by tresoc | Jun 26, 2025 | Events, Latest Blog Post, News
Join us at a talk at The Mansion on Wed July 9th at 7pm, at which Dr Sally Murrall-Smith explores how local community energy can benefit your pocket, your community and your planet, and how TRESOC is helping to guide Totnes into a more sustainable and resilient energy future.
Sally will also be discussing the origins of the TRESOC initiative, Energy Local Totnes, its performance to date, and what’s next for the pioneering local energy club – as featured on The One Show, available to view at www.tresoc.co.uk/elt.
So if you live in or around Totnes, and you’re keen to learn how we can all make the most of the valuable resources on our doorstep, this is the event for you – as it is if you live outside of Totnes and want to set up your own Energy Local club in your area.
There are only 20 places available for this talk, with tickets available at: https://bit.ly/tresoc-talk
Community Energy in Totnes: Wed July 9th, 7pm, at The Mansion, 36 Fore Street, Totnes, TQ9 5RP. Totnes Weir Hydro – photo © 2025 Dart3D.
by tresoc | Jun 5, 2025 | News
On Tuesday 3rd June, Energy Local Totnes was featured on The One Show on BBC 1, in a short film exploring our local energy club’s benefits to pocket, community and planet. The feature captures the essence of what Energy Local Totnes is doing and how our pioneering members are all part of something truly ground-breaking.
Watch now at: https://www.tresoc.co.uk/elt
Back in early March, presenter Lucy Siegle and the crew spent the day with us, filming at the Totnes Weir hydro and in the homes of some of our members, as you’ll see in the film.
The day culminated at The Royal Seven Stars Hotel, where a large group of enthusiastic members gathered, each being interviewed by Lucy, who grew up in Totnes. Unfortunately, those latter interviews didn’t make it into the final edit, but we’re extremely grateful to all the loyal club members who were able to offer their support throughout the day – it’s a prime example of a community really coming together for the common good.
From the cutting room floor: Energy Local Totnes members at the Royal Seven Stars Hotel, ready for their close-ups!
More from the cutting room floor: Lucy Siegle prepares to interview Energy Local Totnes Energy Advisor, Jem Friar
Receiving national coverage for our community energy club is extremely valuable as we seek to encourage new members to join. Energy Local Totnes currently has 48 members, and our goal is to sign up a total of 200 founding members by November this year. This short film is an excellent introduction to Energy Local Totnes, and we would appreciate it if you could share the link with your family, friends and neighbours, to demonstrate that with their help we can actively participate in reshaping Britain’s energy future toward one that’s more equitable, sustainable, and community-controlled.
Learn more about Energy Local Totnes or register your interest in joining.
by tresoc | Jan 16, 2025 | Events
On the evening of January 10th, 2025, Energy Local Totnes (ELT) marked a significant milestone: its first Annual General Meeting. Held at The Mansion, this event brought together members, directors, and supporters to celebrate achievements, reflect on challenges, and chart the course for an even brighter future.
A Dream Realised
Sally Murrall-Smith, founder director of ELT and Managing Director of TRESOC, opened the meeting with a warm welcome. She shared her excitement about how far ELT has come since its inception. “Providing locally generated renewable electricity to local people” is not just an idea anymore – it’s a reality that is saving members money, reducing carbon footprints, and reinvesting in the local economy.
As the 10th Energy Local club – and the first to partner with 100Green – ELT is breaking new ground. Its innovative approach allows multiple local generators and even small businesses to participate, creating a more inclusive and sustainable energy model.
Looking Back: A Year of Progress
While ELT officially registered as a cooperative in June 2023, its journey to full operation wasn’t without hurdles. An initial generator withdrawal and technical issues delayed the start, but by October 2024, local hydro power from Totnes Weir Hydro began supplying the club. Despite the learning curve, ELT is already making an impact:
- 99.9% Local Hydro Usage: In December, members used almost entirely local hydroelectricity (charged at 15p per kWh), keeping costs low and carbon emissions minimal.
- Significant Savings: Members are already saving up to 30% on electricity bills.
Ambitious Plans for 2025
The future of ELT is as inspiring as its beginnings. Key goals for the year include:
- Growing Membership: Signing up 200 households and 400kW of renewable energy generators.
- Maximising Savings: Helping members reduce energy bills by 10-30% while cutting carbon emissions by 30%.
- Education and Engagement: Hosting workshops to teach members how to optimise energy use and developing renewable energy education programs for children.
- Expanding the Model: Establishing two new Energy Local clubs in Moretonhampstead and Ashburton, training new advisors, and promoting opportunities for low-income households.
These ambitions reflect ELT’s commitment to creating a fairer, greener energy system that benefits everyone.
Why Join Energy Local Totnes?
For Totnes residents not yet part of ELT, the benefits are clear:
- Save Money: Access cheaper, locally generated renewable electricity.
- Support Sustainability: Reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to a greener future.
- Strengthen the Local Economy: Keep money within the community by supporting local renewable energy projects.
Be Part of the Change
As Sally aptly put it during the AGM, ELT’s success in Totnes could catalyse systemic change, proving that communities can take control of their energy and build a more equitable system. Why not be part of this transformative journey?
Visit our Energy Local Totnes page to learn more and sign up today. Together, we can create a cleaner, fairer energy future for Totnes and beyond.
by tresoc | Oct 8, 2024 | Latest TRESOC News
Dear TRESOC Members and Friends,
We invite you to hear about our work over the last year and to celebrate the opportunities ahead at our upcoming Annual General Meeting.
Please join us for a cup of tea, a mince pie and some sparkling conversation on November 5th at Totnes United Free Church, 56 Fore St, Totnes, TQ9 5RU. We look forward to welcoming members, friends and the public from 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
We encourage you to come along to ask questions and help us develop our strategy for the year ahead. We need 55 members to be quorate and we’d like to see all of you! Our aim is that you are aligned with, and endorse, the efforts we are making on your behalf.
If you are a member and unable to attend the AGM, we kindly ask that you arrange a Proxy Vote to ensure your voice is heard. As TRESOC rules require a 10% member vote, every vote is essential. A link to the Proxy Voting Form can be found below.
Please download, sign, and submit the Proxy Voting Form either by posting it or dropping it through the door at TRESOC, 107 High Street, Totnes, TQ9 5SN, or by emailing a scanned copy to admin@tresoc.co.uk.
To attend, please register by emailing us at admin@tresoc.co.uk. You will receive a link to join the meeting upon registration.
The Directors’ Report and a summary of our latest Accounts will be sent out to members prior to the AGM, links to which can also be found below.
by tresoc | Sep 25, 2024 | News
Totnes Renewable Energy Society (TRESOC) support the new onshore wind turbine development at Bigbury, linked to an Octopus Energy fan club.
TRESOC believe that more onshore wind should be developed in the South Hams and welcomes any model that encourages this. The development of local wind resources is a way for communities to become more energy dependant and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. Ideally, these wind resources would be 100% community owned, however, few communities have the financial resources, skills and risk appetite needed to develop a turbine. To make small projects economically viable they need to be linked to some type of local supply model such as an Energy Local Club, which we are developing in Totnes, or an Octopus Energy Fan Club.
More clean and green renewable energy on the system in this area can only be a good thing and we hope the project is successfully developed.
The TRESOC Board
Learn more from Bigbury Net Zero’s project booklet
by tresoc | Mar 20, 2024 | Latest TRESOC News
TRESOC had an excellent time last week with Year 5s and 6s from Harbertonford Primary School. On Monday we spent the day visiting local renewable energy sites, including Marley Wind Turbine, Dartington Solar Farm, Dartington Wood Chip Boiler and Totnes Weir Hydro. The next day we returned to the classroom to explore the science behind these technologies, through a series of interactive workshops. The students were really engaged and asked some fantastic questions that got everybody thinking!
Many thanks to Harbertonford Primary for taking part in our REEL (Renewable Energy Experiential Learning) programme, funded by the Energy Redress Scheme Grant for the Energy Local Totnes Project. Energy Local Totnes is a club for buying and selling locally generated renewable electricity at a fair price, saving local people money off their bills and paying local generators a better price. For more information: https://energylocal.org.uk/totnes
by tresoc | Dec 4, 2023 | Latest TRESOC News, News
It was great to see those of you who made it to this year’s AGM on 13th November! Click the link below to see the draft minutes from the meeting…
by tresoc | Mar 27, 2023 | Latest TRESOC News
In this video, we discuss the Clay Park project by Transition Homes Community Land Trust and TRESOC. Our project aimed to showcase a new business model where a community energy company and a local housing developer could generate low-cost green electricity for affordable housing. The Rural Community Energy Fund awarded us grants to investigate and develop the project.
However, due to economic challenges such as the increased cost of materials after the pandemic and the energy crisis created by the war in Ukraine, the financial model for the project needed to be reworked. Transition Homes Community Land Trust partnered with Aster Housing Group. This has helped ensure the housing development can provide 100% affordable housing, but with a shift in how energy for the homes will be sourced, has meant there is no business case for a microgrid or TRESOC’s continued involvement.
TRESOC is extremely grateful to the Rural Community Energy Fund for its support. We continue to develop the microgrid model through our Energy Local Totnes project and hope to inspire other community energy groups to plan their own microgrids.
by tresoc | Mar 16, 2023 | Latest TRESOC News, News
On the 24th March TRESOC will proudly launch the South West’s first Smart Local Energy System, Energy Local Totnes (ELT), a new economic driver for the development of local renewable energy.
Energy Local CIC has been setting up clubs around the country that help create local markets for power. They designed technology that uses smart meter data to allow households to club together to show they are using local, clean power when it is generated. The households then agree a price with local generators that’s better for the generators as well as reducing their own bills. For more information on how Energy Local clubs work click here.
Green Energy (GE) UK are acting as the partner energy supplier who will ensure there is enough power for the households in the club when there is not enough local electricity generated.
Totnes Town Council have officially signed a GE UK contract to supply the excess from the 15kW solar PV array on the Civic Hall, into the club. GE UK are now doing the technical work that it takes to become their energy supply company. 35 people have already registered an interest in becoming part of the club, and these will be the first customers. GE UK will start to sign these customers over at the beginning of April.
The number of customers in the club needs to balance the amount of generation. Jem Friar, the Totnes Energy Local advisor will be responsible for this matching. To start with, we will be able to sign up 10-15 people, to use the power from the Civic. Soon after the club is in operation, Harrison’s Garage intend to join the club, as they have installed a new 30kW system on the roof of their garage. This should mean roughly another 15-20 people can join, depending on the modelling. As more generation joins the club, balanced by more customers, the club can grow. This is real innovation at work. It will be the first Energy Local Club in the country to be able to grow in this way.
Energy Local Totnes will be its own co-operative, and totally independent of TRESOC, although TRESOC will be a generator member. It will have its own board, made up of generator and consumer members, who will annually set the match price for the club. The match price is the price that the generator and consumer gets, when a consumer matches their energy demand to local generation.
This is a pilot scheme, so we are looking to test the Energy Local concept locally to make sure it really will save people money before we can roll it out on a larger scale. For the first year, only solar PV will be selling into the club. With the increased rate that generators receive for their electricity many new local renewable energy projects will become economically viable. This is something that TRESOC is working hard to explore and make the most of.
To read more about the prices that the club has set for energy use, and to find out more about registering your interest head to the Energy Local Totnes page.
by tresoc | Oct 19, 2022 | Events, Latest TRESOC News, News
We are pleased to invite you to our Annual General Meeting at 7.00p.m. on Monday 14th November 2022. Members, friends and the public are welcome to attend, ask questions and help us develop our strategy for the year ahead – we’d like to welcome all of you! Our goal – as always – is that you are aligned with, and endorse, the efforts we are making on your behalf.
The Directors’ Report and a summary of our latest Accounts to 31st March 2022 will be sent out to members prior to the AGM, or you can download them via the links below. A signed copy of the accounts has been submitted to the Financial Services Authority, and will be available here prior to the AGM. In order to attend, email admin@tresoc.co.uk to register and receive the link.
If you are a member and are unable to attend, it is vital you arrange a Proxy Vote. The Rules of TRESOC require 10% of members to vote at the AGM and, with 560 members, every vote counts. Please download and sign the Proxy Voting Form and put through the door at – or post to – TRESOC, 107 High Street, Totnes, TQ9 5SN, or scan and email to admin@tresoc.co.uk.
by tresoc | Oct 14, 2022 | Latest Blog Post
With uncertainty around energy prices, the only practical thing, and within reasonable control of most households, is to try to reduce energy bills. Here are a few ideas on how to do that with some potentially social, as well as economic benefits:
- Start a meal exchange with your neighbours – set a few days a week where you cook a meal and deliver it to them, and vice versa. This saves on time and energy, and if you eat it together even better.
- Share lifts to work or to school.
- Share or co-ordinate shopping trips or deliveries.
- Turn off electrical equipment at the wall when not needed. Stand by modes still use a surprising amount of power.
- Avoid using the tumble dryer
- Turn off lights
- Don’t over fill the kettle
- Consider insulation and draft proofing – depending on your circumstances you might be eligible for grants. Visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
- Plan meals and cut down on food waste (children beware!)
South Dartmoor Community Energy (SDCE) also have some good tips for staying warm without turning up your heating. Visit www.sdce.org.uk.
by tresoc | Oct 14, 2022 | Latest Blog Post
Community energy has never seemed so attractive. It is a way for people to take control of their local renewable energy resources, increase local resilience, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and support the local economy. In doing so, we can enhance community cohesion and tackle fuel poverty and with rising energy bills this autumn, we need this now more than ever.
Totnes Renewable Energy Society (TRESOC) is one of many Devon based renewable energy companies, owned and operated by the local community. It raises money to develop energy projects through a community share-offer, which ensures that any profits are kept within the local economy. For more information, visit our website www.tresoc.co.uk, or for your local group visit www.devoncommnunityenergy.org.uk.
TRESOC currently has a grant from Devon County Council (Team Devon’s COVID -19 Economic Recovery and Business Prospectus Funding) to establish an Energy Local Club to sell locally generated renewable electricity to local people at a reduced price, effectively establishing Totnes’ own renewable energy marketplace. Within an Energy Local Club (ELC), households and small businesses pay a lower price for electricity if they use the renewable energy from local generators, when it is generated; the customer pays less, and the generator receives more (contrary to belief, small generators, such as TRESOC are not receiving windfall prices for the electricity they produce). TRESOC is working with Energy Local CIC to develop the project. Energy Local have 12 community projects across England and Wales, all helping to reduce the price of electricity for local people.
At the national level, Power to the People is campaigning for the Local Electricity Bill, which if made law, would enable community energy groups to sell renewable electricity directly to local people. For more information and to sign the petition, go to their website: powerforpeople.org.uk
Energy price hikes next month will make this a harsh winter for many. We’ve got tips to help.
Pictured: Sally Murrall-Smith, TRESOC Operations Director
