New investment partner supercharges plans for Dales community energy scheme

Derbyshire Dales Community Energy (DDCE) has enlisted the support of Shropshire cooperative Sharenergy to help guide the process, drawing on its experience of raising more than £20million through community share offers linked to similar initiatives all over the UK.

The first two Matlock rooftop sites, Highfields School and Twiggs on Bakewell Road, have already passed feasibility assessments with a view to delivering 220 kilowatts of capacity, equivalent to around 25 average households – but Sharenergy says there is scope to go far beyond that.

A DDCE spokesperson said: “Sharenergy have identified an ambitious opportunity for us to ensure the longevity and stability of the group. The plan is to take community energy in Derbyshire to the next level by attempting to install 1MW worth of solar photovoltaics.

“This will not only be providing a great amount of renewable energy, but also will make DDCE more resilient to the potential risks associated with small scale solar PV.”

They added: “There are a few sites in the pipeline that could potentially work well, but nothing is set in stone.

“One of the main factors is that a good solar site doesn’t only need roof space for the PV installation. For a community project to be financially viable it's important that a large portion of the energy generated by the solar is also consumed on site.”

If all goes according to plan, DDCE expects to release shares this autumn, funding the first two installations in early 2023.

DDCE volunteers have also been busy working to set up a community energy hub which could link all the existing, and potential new, projects around Derbyshire, so they can coordinate resources and mutual support.

The ultimate aim is to widen the uptake of community energy activities across the county to realise the net zero carbon targets of county and district councils, and act as a catalyst encouraging wider community action.

For more details, contact [email protected].