In October 2022, we completed installing LED lighting at Goodrich Community Primary School in East Dulwich, London SE22.
A total of 465 lamps/fittings were replaced with efficient LEDs throughout the school.
SE24 delivered this project in partnership with South East London Community Energy (SELCE) and our installation contractor was the EES Group.
As well as a one-third capital grant from the GLA’s London Community Energy Fund, the school’s PTA (Friends of Goodrich) made a substantial contribution towards the project cost.
We estimate that this LED installation will save the school over £15,000 in electricity costs per year and avoid 12 tonnes of CO2 emissions eachyear.
“I’m delighted that SE24 and partners were able to complete all of the LED lighting installation so efficiently. It’s all looking brilliant (literally!) and couldn’t have been better timing for the school to be able to take advantage of the financial savings immediately.”
Eleanor Fawcett, Goodrich School Governor, Chair of the Premises Committee
Our local Dulwich and West Norwood Climate Change Coalition (DaWN CCC) will meet for the third time on 5th July, 7.30pm at Herne Hill Methodist Church Hall, 155 Half Moon Lane, SE24 9JG. Doors open for stall holders at 7pm. Open…
I am sure that this news won’t have passed you by but for all of us who are working or volunteering in the community energy or renewable energy business this news was such a major encouragement. On Wednesday 7 Jun…
My name is James, a recent Biology graduate volunteering with SE24. I’ve joined meetings with current and potential future partners and have been working on our online content. I see this as great opportunity to take a role in an exciting and growing organisation working in an area that I am passionate about.
During my studies I learnt how climate change is affecting the natural world at the species level and right through to entire biomes. A massive proportion of the biodiversity I studied is threatened by climate change. Effective conservation requires scientists to be able to predict the complex responses of species and ecosystems to future changes in temperature. However, to be as successful as possible requires slowing (if not stopping entirely) the rate of climate change, otherwise conservationists will constantly be playing catch up.
Although I’m interested in the natural world, I don’t believe that the best way effect real change is to appeal to peoples love for the natural world (how many times have we seen doomsday headlines accompanied by an image of a polar bear drifting on a small raft of ice?). We don’t need more scientists providing evidence for human mediated climate change; we have a consensus. This is one of the reasons that I am seeking a career related to tackling climate change but away from the lab bench. We’ve known about the science for decades, and yet the environmental movement has largely failed to make meaningful change. Framing the issue as a purely environmental one has clearly not worked.
We are beginning to see the humanitarian implications of a warming planet. Security experts call it a “threat multiplier” and a “significant risk to… international security”. We’ve heard how it is likely to have contributed in some way to the Arab Spring, and with the climate likely to continue warming for at least a few decades, further mass displacement of people is predicted. Climate change is no longer just about the dying Great Barrier Reef and shrinking polar ice sheets, it’s about people too.
Global warming is an issue people find hard to engage with; it seems distant and abstract. Not only that, but there are enormous obstacles to progress such as the misinformation war being waged and funded largely by the fossil fuel industry (and bought wholesale by certain world leaders in waiting!).
But there is hope. Sustainable energy is becoming cheaper at a rapid pace and receiving big investment. I want to be a part of the fast-expanding sustainable energy industry and join the race to make clean energy more cost effective than fossil fuels, stranding coal, oil and gas in the ground.
SE24 provides an opportunity for me not only to learn about sustainable energy, but also to be part of a community. Quite apart from the obvious benefits of this scheme for the environment, partners and investors, I think that the act of putting solar panels on buildings shared by the community sends a message that people do care and that change is possible.
Keynote speech from Helen Hayes supporting community energy projects to move towards sustainable development
SE24 member Dr Paul Chambers demonstrates the effects of CO2 emissions on global warming in a talk on climate change and government policy
Chris Rowland from Ovesco, who have mentored SE24, shares success stories of community solar energy in the Ouse Valley
Worried about climate change but don’t know what to do? Keen to support solar energy but have no idea how? Those were the questions that a group of Herne Hill cyclists chatted about as they pedalled along. Until they decided to set up a group – SE24 – to provide solar answers that we can be part of in our very own Herne Hill and South East London. So on Sunday 12th July, hosted by the Salvation Army, SE24 organised an evening of expert speakers and provided people a chance to share ideas.
People interested in sustainable development, and in particular in community solar energy projects, came together to exchange ideas about the need for solar, and to learn about everything from the rather scary technicalities to the equally complex process of setting up panels on community buildings.
Local Labour MP, Helen Hayes, gave an inspiring introduction, and encouraged local communities to tackle climate change themselves, to take energy matters into our own hands, and to move forward together on projects like SE24.
Dr Paul Chambers, one of the core members of SE24, works for the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change and is currently seconded to the British Embassy in Jakarta, working on clean energy programmes in Indonesia. He outlined the impact of global warming and the need to reduce CO2 emissions, not just in the UK but also globally. With a look to the future Paul addressed the positive impact solar energy can have and the current, surprisingly large achievements of solar in the UK. One day last week 16% of the UK’s electricity was generated by solar – and that’s higher than Italy!
Joe Miletic, a solar power professional and technical advisor to SE24, explained in more detail how solar panels work. Joe, a solar energy engineer working at Sonnedix on asset management for an international portfolio of solar PV plants (100MW) outlined the different types of panels and their effectiveness in generating electricity. Strange as it may seem, the UK, despite many rainy days, is actually very suited to produce electricity through sunlight captured by photo voltaic panels.
With the efficiency of solar in mind, Chris Rowland told the audience about the success of Ovesco Ltd, who have been mentoring SE24, their community energy projects and how people are coming together across the country to help others set up similar solar initiatives. He reminded everyone that we are part of a growing movement in which people are working towards the same aims with a better, greener future in mind.
Finally, Mark Hughes, the SE24 treasurer described the process of installing solar pv panels through SE24 and the Government Feed In Tariff scheme. Mark, who spent 25 years leading the Power Utilities team in Price Waterhouse Cooper and is a member of the DECC Expert Group advising on the new support structure for large scale low carbon generation, highlighted the safe financial benefits of investing in a community energy project. He also shed light on the process that SE24 will commit to on behalf of the site roof owners in exchange for a 20-year lease on their roof.
As you would expect in Herne Hill, the audience had plenty of tricky questions. WAS THAT TRUE? For example, someone asked about whether it was better to invest in solar panels for your home or in a larger scale project such as SE24. The answer? Of course it’s great to put solar panels on your roof. But the benefits of SE24 include not having to invest a huge amount to cover the costs of installation on just one home, and the philanthropic returns of investing through a certified Community Benefit Society, so giving back to the local community. We received great feedback from those there and we look forward to staying in touch. One woman emailed the very next day saying: “I woke very early with my mind racing with ideas for how to get more and more people involved and aware…”
Wish you had been there? Don’t worry – we’ve got plenty more events planned for September to spread the word and keep the community informed of our developments – so watch this space! And please get in touch if you want to know more. Just email us – details below.
We believe that we can make a difference, not only in reducing our dependence upon fossil fuels but also to tackle local fuel poverty. So please start encouraging your local school, church, or any public building to install solar panels through SE24 – and get in touch if you have burning questions or bright ideas!
