The Repowered Community is Repowering London’s clean energy neighbourhood model. It strengthens communities by delivering clean energy hand in hand with long-term local services and benefits. One year into its first demonstrator project, Repowered Community Newham (RCN), we wanted to update you on our progress.
CEN’s share offers are paving the way for a stronger co-operative
Solar sunshine
Community Energy Newham (CEN) has already installed rooftop solar assets in Newham, with more under development. These installations provide community buildings with locally generated, clean energy, at a reduced cost. The Repowered Community programme is now helping to engage communities with an upcoming CEN share offer. The share offer will add to CEN’s and members and bring solar panels into local ownership.
Suiting and booting buildings
Already, around 100 households have signed up to our retrofit Blocks of Flats service. This programme gives Newham residents a roadmap to warmer, safer and more sustainable living conditions.
Communities decide
A group of local Newham residents have joined the programme as a Community Steering Group to guide the development of community energy projects in the borough. So far, it has decided a heat-network priority site (Little Ilford) alongside LSBU, and is contributing to the design of the governance and legal structure of a Community Energy Service Company (CESCo) that will supply locally generated and low-cost energy to households – work being led by Dark Matter Labs.
Heating the neighbourhood
Thanks to the hard work of the Community Steering Group, we have identified a priority site for a community energy heat network – the Little Ilford Estate in the northeast of the borough. This decarbonised heating solution will reduce resident bills, cut carbon emissions, and improve indoor air quality.
Energy advice
We have been giving energy efficiency advice to people at events across the borough, sharing energy saving tips, distributing draught-proofing materials and LED lightbulbs. It has provided immediate benefits for communities, including lower energy bills and warmer homes.
Democratic governance
Dark Matter Labs is leading work to design a replicable governance model for a not-for-profit Community Energy Services Company (CESCo) that supplies locally generated and low-cost energy. The model is built on five core principles – inclusivity, accountability, transparency, flexibility, and equitable resource distribution – and embeds an approach to community ownership that more equitably distributes the risks and responsibilities inherent in the supply of energy.
Partnerships
As we continue the work in Newham, Glasgow Community Energy (GCE) is playing its part in Scotland. Glasgow Community Energy (GCE) is a community energy co-operative. It is set to help test the Repowered Community framework for scale across the UK. Eventually it will pilot a suite of toolkits we’re producing so they can be refined and readied for use. So far, it has delivered a series of workshops in Easterhouse and Renfrewshire to develop community projects, initiated a participatory process to codesign grant making via their community fund, and launched a new £1 membership offer to expand and democratise their membership.
Glasgow Community Energy is turning the tide in Scotland
We are combining our own understanding, our partners technical learning and local knowledge from Repowered Community Newham to create an accessible roadmap to a Repowered Community, in the form of a toolkit. Repowering London’s mission is for every town and city in the UK can be powered by community energy by 2030. The Repowered Community will help make that happen. Our neighbourhood energy model gives communities the seeds to grow their own projects where they live – putting communities at the core of a just transition.
Repowered Community Newham is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
To learn more about Repowered Community Newham you can read our latest blog articles below