This year ECOE made £4,100 available via its community fund, and we allocated it in January, as previously discussed in this post. We granted £1,400 to Art and Energy for creative solar workshops making renewable energy both fun and inspirational. In May they told ECOE that ‘This project is underway and is going according to plan.’ They had already delivered workshops to 23 people ranging from 10 to 65. They also had five more planned before September, with capacity for another 50 people. Art and Energy can now continue to deliver these workshops in the future.
Creative impact
Art and Energy said this to ECOE about the community fund:
We understand that responding to the climate emergency is really tricky. It will require all of humanity’s ingenuity and creativity. It will require us to do things differently.
Art and Energy CIC is a collective of artists and energy experts who bring together their knowledge and skills to reimagine the way solar panels are made, so we can have new, unique and beautiful energy generation systems for special places and you can get involved in making artworks that generate clean energy and make the world a better place.
Without the support of Exeter Community Energy, we wouldn’t be able to offer our solar panel charger making workshop to people in Exeter and across the South West. Our workshops have been well received. We look forward to sharing our passion for renewable energy with anyone who wants to find a creative way to respond to the climate emergency.
Lower bills already
In addition, we allocated £900 to each of three other applicants. MIDI wanted the money for the installation of solar panels. Friends of the Estuary in Topsham wanted to install an electric vehicle charge point. Pinhoe Road Baptist Church wanted to install of LED lighting. Pinhoe Road Baptist Church have already used their funds and are enjoying the benefits in lower energy bills. Friends of the Estuary aim to complete installation of the EV charge point by the first week of July in time for their grand opening event. Finally, MIDI are awaiting the outcome of a large funding bid. If secured, it will allow them to move forward with solar PV installation on their roof.
Thanks go out to the 42 members who kindly donated part or all of their share interest to contribute £2,100 to the community fund. Their funds added to the £2000 agreed by members at the 2018 AGM to make the total £4,100 awarded.
Want to donate your interest?
We will be paying out interest at the end of July. If you are a member please ensure your details are up to date by Sunday July 14 using the members’ login on the right hand side of our website. If you usually receive your interest by cheque, we kindly ask you to provide bank details in the members portal for direct payment instead. This helps because it costs ECOE money to produce cheques and send them out. Also, please let us know if you would like to donate your interest to our running costs or community fund by selecting the appropriate option in your members portal, also by Sunday July 14. Any queries regarding this should be sent to Vicky.