FROME is set to lead the way in a pioneering green energy project this year as a handful of community groups nationwide look to provide a new, greener way to buy electricity.
Frome Renewable Energy Co-op (FRECo) will be one of ten groups joining together to create the UK’s first community-generated renewable energy supply this summer which they hope will start to revolutionise Britain’s energy market.
Co-operative company Mongoose Energy is set to start its own electricity supply by buying power from projects such as the solar panels on Frome Medical Centre and the football stand.
The electricity will be sold to customers via the grid in the same way as other power companies.
And FRECo is hoping households in Frome will switch from their current electricity supplier.
The essence of Mongoose is that it will sell only renewable energy and profits will come straight back to the community groups, including FRECo.
Director of FRECo, town councillor, and former mayor of Frome, Peter Macfadyen, is keen to get local people involved.
Peter told Frome Times, “This is a totally new thing for the UK but it’s tried and tested in Germany. I’m really enthusiastic about the project and I think if it’s going to work anywhere it’ll work in Frome. There’s such a strong community spirit here and that’s what this is all about.
“The electricity will come out of community projects and the money will come in, and that can only be a good thing. If we can get 1,000 households on board in Frome that’ll mean £30,000 for FRECo, which can be reinvested into local renewable projects.”
The electricity will be generated by solar, wind, anaerobic digestion, and hydropower. It will come from a group of community projects – currently ten – from across the country, including ones in Bath, Bristol and Wiltshire.
The groups, like FRECo, organise and run renewable energy projects that are funded and owned by the local people who invest in them.
Mongoose Energy has been running since 2010 and supporting and fundraising for community energy initiatives.
“Mongoose is hugely ambitious,” Peter continued. “It’s looking to really open up the energy market. The company will be operating in the same realms as the ‘big six’ energy firms and it will be making sure prices are competitive and the switching process is as easy as possible.”
Although not directly linked to Frome Town Council’s projects, if successful, the scheme could also go some way towards the town’s ambition to be fossil fuel-free in 30 years’ time.
Mongoose Energy’s supply business is expected to be up and running in August this year.
To find out more about Mongoose Energy go to www.mongooseenergy.coop or for information on FRECo go to www.freco.org