Small is beautiful for renewable energies
29th June 2009
Simon Harding
A Nottinghamshire village has raised over £85,000 to purchase its own wind turbine, according to the news and business website, easier.com. The Sustainable Hockerton Group (now known as Sustainable Hockerton Limited (SHL)) channelled the concerns of local residents about the reliance on imported Russian gas, the community’s carbon footprint and an interest in sustainable energy into social entrepreneurial action.
The second-hand 225kW Vestas Turbine erected about 500m from the village, with its 31m tower and 15m blades, is expected to generate enough power for over 50 homes. The electricity is fed into the national grid, which generates revenue for SHL and provides a return for the local investors. Potential financial returns on the electricity generated by the turbine make it a viable sustainable business opportunity rather than a simple case of environmental charity.
Sustainable Hockerton Limited shows how social and environmentally minded entrepreneurs can harness global concerns about climate change and turn them into locally based projects, which benefit local residents by providing sustainable energy, investment opportunities and increased social capital. The Hockerton turbine may also inspire other village communities and act as a model of good practice: SHL is run by its members on a one-man one-vote basis.
Despite widespread community support and the village’s substantial contribution to the project, Sustainable Hockerton Limited is still seeking additional investors to complete the project.
With the UK aiming to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% on 1990 levels in the next 40 years, SHL appears to be an ideal opportunity for the government to invest in a micro-generation project which is both environmentally and financially sustainable. The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (now in its second phase), overseen by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, offers grants of up to £1m for small-scale wind, biomass and solar power projects run by not-for-profit organisations. However, the programme’s ‘funding pot’ for wind turbines contains just £5m to finance projects across the entire country.
The government must oversee a significant greening of the UK’s power generation capacity in order to meet its international obligations. However, in its enthusiasm for nuclear power and large scale renewable projects, it must not overlook the efforts of small-scale social and environmental entrepreneurs such as those at Hockerton. Encouragement should include both increased financial backing and an easing of planning regulations for micro-generation projects.
See also: ‘Investors flock to support village wind turbine’, on http://www.easier.com