ECOE wins the community group/charity/non-profit award
Exeter Community Energy (ECOE) is the winner of the Community Group/Charity/Non-Profit category in this year’s Exeter Sustainability Awards. The awards follow Exeter City Council declaring a commitment to make Exeter carbon neutral by 2030. In particular they recognise and champion those who are making strides in this area. Princesshay Exeter, Exeter City Futures, Exeter City Council, In Exeter, The Exeter Magazine, the University of Exeter and Devon Contract Waste Ltd back the awards.
The Community Group/Charity/Non-Profit award spans the entirety of ECOE’s activities. Firstly, we installed and now operate solar panels on the roofs of 10 sites in Exeter and East Devon. Significantly, we sell electricity to the sites at a discount relative to their regular suppliers. Obviously, this cuts their carbon emissions and electricity bills. Moreover, surplus income goes into a community fund, supporting organisations to fight climate change and fuel poverty. Since 2017, we have put surplus income from these projects into our community fund, making 24 awards of at least £450.
You are all heroes
Lastly, and perhaps most impressively, we also run Healthy Homes for Wellbeing, which advises people on cutting their energy costs to directly combat fuel poverty. The Healthy Homes project’s Home Energy Advisors assisted 4,411 homes in Exeter Community Energy’s 2021/2022 financial year ended March 2022. Chiefly, we estimate that these efforts will save clients £1.72 million. A recent project by a student of the University of Exeter MSc Global Sustainability Solutions estimates that this work saved around 595 tonnes carbon dioxide from being emitted from February 2021 to March 2022. This is 1.2% of the necessary annual emission decline required by the whole of Exeter to reach net zero by 2030.
‘ECOE welcomes the amazing recognition from the Exeter Sustainability Awards,’ says Andy Extance, ECOE director. ‘We are showing the amazing things that are possible when the community comes together to deal with our problems. The award is for everyone from our members to our expert team of Home Energy Advisors. All of you are heroes. You already have the deep thanks of the ECOE directors. Now, the whole city of Exeter has rewarded your efforts as well.’
