Town’s first energy fair
Focus on new ways of supplying electricity and gas
THE first energy fair is to take place in Leek as residents start to look at new ways of supplying energy to their homes.
The way that many residents in the Staffordshire Moorlands heat their homes and get their water hot is set to change significantly over the next decade.
New gas boiler sales could be banned while other energy sources such as heat pumps will be encouraged.
That is just part of a dramatic shift in the way that we make and use energy over the next few decades. The National Grid already relies on renewables for over 50 per cent of its output on some days and that proportion is only set to rise.
As part of this shift the government and power companies are encouraging community-led organisations and individuals to start generating their own power – whether from hydroelectric schemes, solar panels or even as their electric vehicles sit idle.
But this change will be immensely complex, involving a whole range of different players. While the direction of travel is clear, the pace of the change and the precise route that journey will take remains painfully unclear.
On Sunday April 3. Moorlands Climate Action will stage its first Energy Fair at the Foxlowe Arts Centre in Leek. The event, which is free to all, will bring together a number of people and organisations already involved in the first stages of the Great Energy Transition.
“When it comes to information on the future of energy generation and use in the Moorlands, we are far closer to Ground Zero than Net Zero,” said Moorlands Climate Action’s Mark Johnson. “There are just far more questions than answers at the moment.”
“We cannot provide all the answers – but we can provide some and get the conversation going on the more difficult issues.”
He argued that some of the issues are already affecting people in the Moorlands – planning applications are now coming in for new solar farms and battery storage facilities, for example, yet residents, councillors and officers have almost no knowledge of how, why, and where these might be needed.
Mark said: “In the future, residents may have to upgrade electrical systems and streets will have to be dug up. This will save people money in the longer term, yet it will involve uncertainty and disruption.”
A range of experts from Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and beyond will be presenting and present at the fair. The day will be broken up into three sessions: Community Energy Production, Personal Energy and Use and Home Insulation and Retrofit.
Mark added: “The question of energy efficiency is a crucial one. With the coming brutal spike in people’s energy bills, it is going to be essential to get information out to people on simple, practical ways in which they can save energy – and money.”