Research is being carried out to see whether locally-owned renewable energy could be a reality for Newham. Lead researcher Dr Charlotte Johnson explains how you can get involved

Rising energy prices have made many of us question where we get our energy from and how we can be more in control of the costs. Some community groups have been actively working to make cheaper, greener energy available to their local communities for years.

Now a group of researchers from University College London (UCL) and King’s College London are running a project to explore whether groups in Newham could take similar steps to generate renewable energy and share the benefits locally.

The research team have spent the last year collecting case-studies from some of the most innovative community energy groups in the UK. They’ve been learning, for example, how a group in Brighton are earning an income by selling their solar electricity to electric vehicle owners, and how a group in Barnsley have put batteries in social housing to reduce tenants’ bills.

Newham doesn’t yet have any community energy groups, but the research team are working with a broad range of groups to think how renewable energy might bring local benefits.

As lead researcher, I have been so inspired by the work I’ve been hearing about in Newham. We have spoken to all sorts of groups, including faith-based groups, community gardeners. women’s groups and local arts organisations, to understand their ambitions for their communities.

Locally-owned renewable energy could be a reality in Newham and there’s an opportunity to think creatively about how this could benefit local people. It could mean new skills, lower bills or new sources of income.

I’m really looking forward to running our creative workshops and making connections between grassroots groups and implementation partners.

The research team will be out and about in Newham in the coming weeks to meet up and talk to local groups. We are also planning to run a series of workshops in the summer. These will be about sharing experiences about local energy projects and exploring how renewable energy could bring local benefits to people in Newham.

The research team are working with Newham Council, UK Power Networks who manage the local electricity network, and the community energy group Repowering London, who are experienced in setting up local energy cooperatives.

Any groups or individuals interested in taking part in the research can get in touch with me at c.johnson@ucl.ac.uk or 020 3108 9198 (ext 59198).

The research project is funded by the Centre for Research on Energy Demand. For more information about the project, visit creds.ac.uk/social-entrepreneurship-at-the-grid-edge

Dr Charlotte Johnson is a Senior Research Fellow at UCL

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