Low Carbon West Oxford (LCWO) is a network of local people working to reduce their individual and community carbon emissions by taking practical action on renewable energy, traffic, food and waste.
The group was spurred on to tackle climate change by the devastating floods which have become a regular occurrence in the region.
LCWO is developing a range of community-owned renewable energy initiatives through the Big Green Challenge, including placing solar panels on the roofs of local businesses, installing wind turbines at a secondary school and developing a micro-hydro scheme at a local weir. LCWO will sell the electricity generated from these projects and use the income to help local households to make energy savings. The group's emphasis is on providing the means to take action alongside the call to action.
Ruth Mayne, Chair of LCWO, explains: "We're aiming to create a self-sustaining income stream from renewables which we will then reinvest in the community to make further cuts in CO2 emissions. Initially we looked for government grant funding to kick-start this process, but as it isn't currently possible for us to access these grants, we decided to launch our own Community Renewables Provident Society and sell shares to local people and friends of the community. We will be installing our first solar panels in August 2009."
LCWO has tested its project ideas with members of the community through a survey and gathering feedback at focus groups. The team has also used less formal research methods such as talking to parents at the school gate and inviting people to chat over a cup of coffee. "The response from the community has been really positive," says Ruth.
The LCWO team provides one-to-one personal and tailored advice to 38 pilot households who are testing a variety of carbon reduction strategies. Regular workshops and surgery sessions give the pilot households an opportunity to provide feedback on what is and isn't working.
The demands of managing multiple renewable energy projects mean that it's important for the LCWO team, who are all volunteers, to stay focused on their objectives. "We review our strategic priorities at meetings throughout the year and maintain a work plan that covers all of our activities," comments Ruth.
"We receive a lot of interest from other groups and organisations that want to find out more about what we're doing and while we're keen to share our experiences, for the time being our focus needs to be on developing the project. This year is about testing our ideas fully and reaching clear conclusions about what works and what doesn't."
An update on the project and how it’s developed since launching can be read here.
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