The Green Valleys, Brecon Beacons

Developing a local energy market

The Green Valleys is aiming to make the Brecon Beacons region a net exporter of energy, by developing Community renewable energy schemes and supporting communities to reduce their carbon emissions. All revenue from community-owned installations will be reinvested in community-based carbon reduction projects such as electric bike sharing or community woodlands that provide managed wood fuel.

One forthcoming community-owned hydro electric installation will generate 82 per cent of the electricity needed by its community. Combined with five privately-owned installations (that The Green Valleys are also developing), it will reduce the community's carbon footprint by 137 per cent.

A grassroots approach

The Green Valleys project manager Grenville Ham explains that an intensive programme of 60 evening lectures helped to get the initiative off the ground. "I already had a good knowledge of the local area but I knew it was important to spend time in the different communities to get to know people, gather feedback and drum up support for the project."

"The lectures were a really rewarding experience as the ideas clearly struck a chord with local people - they were inspired by how the project could empower them to come up with their own solutions to energy and sustainability issues."

Using local expertise

Harnessing local skills and expertise has been an essential part of the project. "Our regional steering group is made up of volunteers with a wide range of skills and knowledge, covering areas from ecology to engineering and accountancy," says Grenville.

The Green Valleys team is now working with statutory organisations in Wales to help other communities develop the skills and expertise needed to run similar projects. "We believe there's enormous potential to replicate our model in other communities, but it has to be a modular approach - each region needs to have its own organisation and its own local supply of skills. To be successful, these projects have to be owned and led from within the community."

Working effectively

The regional steering group considered various company structures before deciding to register as a community interest company, which means that any profit that the company makes has to be spent on furthering its objectives. "Adopting a more formal structure has helped us to work more effectively," says Grenville. "We've now got a structured work plan as well as processes for agreeing new projects which prevent us from overstretching ourselves."

The Green Valleys receives a high volume of enquiries from organisations and groups that want to know more about its approach. Taking on a full-time coordinator to deal with these enquiries has relieved pressure on the volunteers and means that the steering group can continue to focus on developing the projects and planning future activity.

An update on the project and how it's developed since launching can be read here.