Green energy Club together for savings of up to 30%

Energy Local empowers communities to team up with a renewables project in their area to save on bills.

- Tom Duggins reports

With autumn in full swing, shorter days and lower temperatures spell higher energy costs. However, an innovative social enterprise is doing its bit to help by offering people the chance to reduce their electricity bills by as much as 30%.

Energy Local is a nonprofit organisation that has created a way for people to benefit from local clean energy by teaming up with a renewable energy project in their area - it might be a wind turbine, solar farm or hydroelectric scheme - enabling participating residents to buy renewable electricity at a discounted price.

They form a club, which their local project also joins, and it works by matching up residents' energy usage to locally generated electricity. The club agrees a price residents will pay for what they use when the energy is generated.

In Bridport in Dorset, the installation of a wind turbine by local farmer Peter Bailey in one of his fields allowed an energy club to be set up in 2021. Almost 60 people are signed up, and the connection between local energy generation and usage is already having an impact on how members behave.

"Peter believes wind power of about 11mph produces sufficient power for it to generate," says Malcolm Drew, a semiretired engineer and energy club member. He adds: "The website we can access tells us what the turbine is doing - it picks up on wind speed and how windy it is, and if it's a good time to use electricity."

"We're all saving," says Richard Toft, who helped found the club. "Depending on your personal habits, people save a different proportion - anywhere between 10% and 25% on your bill."