Belfast City Council has agreed to look into “community energy” for local residents in the city to take control of their own heating energy sources.
Elected members agreed a motion by the Green Party at the council’s recent Strategic Policy and Resources Committee for council officers to make a report upon potential projects in the city, and to make an appeal to Stormont for funding support.
Community energy refers to community-led renewable energy projects, whether wholly owned and controlled by communities or through partnership with commercial or public sector partners.
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The Edenderry Village Energy Co-op has a grant from the National Lottery to develop and run a community energy scheme in the village just outside Belfast. They are working with NI Community Energy, another co-op, on a feasibility study for a community heating system taking heat from the river or underground and supplying it to homes using heat pumps.
The Belfast council motion states: “This council notes the spiralling cost of energy bills and the increased pressure on households across the city, particularly the most vulnerable. In order to provide long-term solutions to escalating energy prices the council will commit to civic leadership on the development of community energy projects across the city.
“These projects will focus on developing renewable energy in partnership with communities and expert organisations, including the provision of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and sourcing financing for these community energy projects.
“It will engage with the Department for the Economy for support in developing community energy schemes and write to the UK Government Treasury stating its support for a windfall tax on the energy companies which have recorded record profits."
Green Party Councillor Brian Smyth, who forwarded the motion, told the committee: “We are all acutely aware of the many pressures that families are facing around the city, especially considering spiralling energy costs. I have been contacted by people who are desperate and in need of support in my part of East Belfast, and I am under no doubt everyone on this committee has heard the same.
“Yes we need short term solutions and a fully functioning executive to give some degree of support, but we also need a long term vision of where we are going as a city, and how we heat our homes, our work spaces, our businesses etc.
“We face multiple challenges from rising costs and wage stagnation, to poorly insulated buildings, which account for 44 percent of our emissions in Belfast.
“Belfast City Council is in a unique position as a civic leader, and how it reacts and influences has a ripple effect right across Northern Ireland. I want this city to drive new solutions around our energy needs, with the concept of community energy at the heart of it.
“The Department of the Economy has nothing in its plans for community energy, and unfortunately, unlike Britain and the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland is currently a long way behind in terms of any community energy policy and development support. But from conversations I have had with officials, it appears they are open to exploring the idea from next year onwards.”
He added: “We already have organisations such as the Northern Ireland Community Energy Cooperative in place. They have recently worked in support of the Edenderry Village project, covering approximately 200 homes, where residents see an opportunity for the village to make a just transition from fossil fuels heating, to a low carbon heating system, and want to develop a district heating energy scheme that is owned and run by the community.
“One that will tackle and alleviate the risks around fuel poverty, provide a stable dependable source of heat, that isn’t subjected to increasing oil prices, which can improve local air quality.
“Edenderry are seeking to establish a community owned organisation to develop and build and manage a decarbonised heating scheme for the whole village. A community energy renewable system that provides hot water and heating from a central geothermal heat pump system which provides up to four more times more heat energy than electric input to as many homes as possible.
“It offers affordability and retains revenues within the community to reinvest in other renewable energy and other energy efficiency initiatives.”
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