by tresoc | May 15, 2014 | Latest TRESOC News
This is exactly the kind of help we need! An offer at the Tagore Festival from a potential new member to arrange a presentation to 130 hospital staff at Torbay Hospital. As a result, we’ll be speaking at lunchtime on 2nd July in the Horizon Centre about our journey, the success of Leatside, why Community Energy is the clean, healthy way for us, collectively, to take a stake in our energy future and why this Share Offer is a really important opportunity. Where do you work? Who do you know? TREC Lecture Theatre, Horizon Centre, Torbay Hospital, 12-2pm on Wednesday 2nd July. Open to all.
by tresoc | May 14, 2014 | Latest TRESOC News
TRESOC had a presence at the 3-day festival and thoroughly enjoyed the range of conversations we had with members and potential investors. Lots of interest in the Totnes Weir project and suggestions for other projects that we could undertake… if we meet our Share Issue target. Invest and help us treat nature with respect. Quote from Satish Kumar: “Let’s get rid of the isms and make them wasms”. Next: Ways With Words, 5th-13th July. Volunteer on our stall in the reading tent!
by tresoc | May 13, 2014 | Latest TRESOC News
TRESOC has received a very positive response to the historic Staverton Leat project. Julian Sharpe of the Dart Anglers Association has said, “I am very, very keen to see this scheme happen, and my beloved fish protected.” A member of the Staverton Leat Working Group added, “This is the best answer to our problems”. See the latest project update.
by tresoc | May 12, 2014 | Latest TRESOC News
MD Ian Bright was a guest speaker on 16th May at the RTPI SW Conference on Planning for Renewable Energy at Plymouth University. Ian was asked to share learning from the TRESOC experience of community energy and the planning system and spoke on “TRESOC and the Totnes Community Wind Farm: a case study” – RTPI TCWF RTPI Presentation
The event was well attended by planners from across the South West, including a strong contingent from South Hams District Council. It was encouraging to see planners engaging with the UK renewable energy agenda, although the outlook for large wind turbines in the planning system remains bleak. New guidance from the Dept. for Communities and Local Government on engaging with local communities in wind farm developments is expected soon. Meanwhile, TRESOC is concentrating on other, less contentious renewable energy technologies in solar and hydro for the 2014 Share Issue.
Ian says, “It was good to have the chance to tell our side of the TCWF story to SW planners, and to say what we did next. A good working relationship with local government is key to the success of community energy enterprises like TRESOC. Thanks also to the SHDC planners who gave me a lift home!”
by tresoc | Apr 18, 2014 | Latest TRESOC News
Many thanks to The Naturesave Trust who have awarded TRESOC £250 towards the cost of printing our 2014 Share Issue prospectus. The Trust was set up in 1995 to fund specific environmental and conservation projects throughout the UK. It obtains 100% of its funds from the premiums generated by Naturesave Insurance, which uses the insurance industry as a vehicle for sustainable development. The primary function of the Trust is to encourage the greater adoption of sustainable development, especially within the Small and Medium Sized business community.
by tresoc | Feb 22, 2014 | Latest TRESOC News
After a dream of a process, we have a new working partnership with South Devon Rural Housing Association (SDRHA) to install solar PV on all of their suitable properties. The solar panels will provide a source of free electricity for SDRHA tenants during daylight hours or to heat water when tenants are not at home during the day.
TRESOC has engaged local company, BECO Solar to carry out the work. A preliminary desktop survey shows that over half of SDRHA’s properties are suitable for solar PV installations. Site surveys will now be arranged with tenants to ensure that roof structure and electrical connections are suitable before preparing a final list of homes for viable solar PV installations. Although not all roofs will meet the criteria, and therefore not all SDRHA tenants will benefit directly, local community investment will enable SDRHA to use its own resources to further improve the energy efficiency of its entire housing stock.
SDRHA has been installing solar PV for the benefit of its residents for some time, working with Transition Town Totnes’ Transition Streets initiative and through TTT’s current PV referral scheme. TRESOC has now provided a solution that allows SDRHA to give some welcome relief from rising energy bills to many more tenants.
Steve Prime, SDRHA’s Chief Exec, commented for the upcoming press release,
“TRESOC’s community investment model is allowing us to benefit a large proportion of our tenants simply because TRESOC can operate at scale. The fact that SDRHA tenants will benefit directly from lower electricity bills, and TRESOC’s local members will benefit from Feed in Tariff income is ideal. And, not investing our capital in retrofit solar means that we can continue to explore other renewable energy technologies, allowing us to look to the future. It’s a perfect model for any housing association. Local money, local investment, what is not to like?”
The TRESOC team is delighted to be working on this project. Funding for the scheme will come from the local community through a TRESOC share issue later this Spring. Feed In Tariff payments will provide a return to potentially thousands of TRESOC members in the local community, adding further benefit to the local economy.
by tresoc | Feb 1, 2014 | Latest TRESOC News
Amidst the jet stream craziness, we celebrated the power of community energy generation. TRESOC’s 7kWp panels on the roof of Follaton Community Centre will be reducing the hall’s electricity bill by £1,000 p.a. We worked it out… the energy output of 7kW p.a. equates to the power needed to boil 1,200 kettles for 6,000 cups of tea!
by tresoc | Jan 30, 2014 | Latest TRESOC News
Whilst we bring our project work to fruition, we also continue to advocate for community energy and, locally, are members of the REconomy Centre home to a REconomy Project, which identifies how much opportunity exists to generate jobs and livelihoods within the local area. TRESOC is a case study in the Totnes report [download Local Economic Blueprint] Coming soon: the 2014 Local Entrepreneur Forum, May 13th, Totnes Civic Hall, 9:30am-4:30pm.
