“Community Energy” is not something that one person can do alone; there is a reason for its name! If I want to be a part of this, I clearly need to talk to people. My first idea is to volunteer with a local group so that I can learn how a project works. I get in touch with Barnet Council, who are really helpful and enthusiastic but who don’t know of any group that already exists in the borough. They invite me to join their brand-new ‘Housing and Energy Action Team’ which is made up of interested residents, and this helps me to learn more about local energy-saving initiatives. I find Younity online, and I register as a volunteer, listing my skills and the reasons for my interest. This is a great move and I quickly receive a phone call and am put in touch with a community energy group in Muswell Hill, who are immediately friendly and supportive. I am offered the opportunity to start volunteering with them and I feel excited about this. Whilst waiting for this to begin, I read a lot, listen to a lot of webinars about community energy (thank you Community Energy England and Community Energy London for such wonderful free online resources!) and I talk to many people.
Then comes an important step for me. I am invited to a meeting by the group I have made contact with in Muswell Hill, where I meet a Barnet resident and very influential leader of community energy in London. These people encourage me to try and start a community energy group for Barnet. Admittedly, this was more ambitious than I had initially envisaged but I am willing to give it a try. At this point, it is worth mentioning that a series of inspirational people cross my path and give me the energy and courage that I need to move forwards. It feels as if I was destined to meet and listen to these people. “Run, hop, skip or dance, whatever you do, don’t tiptoe,” they say. “Do not be afraid to share who you are, lest you should be judged by others to fall short”, they say. Maybe most influential of all to me continues to be Christiana Figueres and her wonderful ‘Outrage and Optimism' podcast. “Quite frankly, there is no answer to climate change without substantially, dramatically, increasing the amount of renewable energy in the global energy system”, she says. She calls for every single one of us to do every single thing that we can to effect positive change while we still have time. What will we tell those who come after us if we do not?
Inspiration, however, is all well and good, but start my own community energy group?!! Who am I kidding? I am not qualified for this, I’m in too deep, I wouldn’t even know where to start. Or, on second thoughts, maybe I would. I need an ally, a partner, more people. I talk to everyone I can think of (an amazing thing about being a mother is that you get the chance to talk to a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds and professions) and I use my social media and local networks. Everyone who I speak to is very interested in the idea of community energy, even although none of them have ever heard of it before; it is definitely not a hard idea to sell. Without exception, people think that it is a wonderful idea. Whilst I receive a great deal of encouragement, I cannot find anyone who has time or inclination to join me on this journey and I begin to feel that this is simply too difficult.
I get in touch with ‘Power for People’, who are campaigning for government support for the sector, and they invite me to join a cross-party event in Westminster. When I arrive, there is an enormous queue, which I stand in for over an hour. I meet some wonderful people who have travelled from different parts of the UK and who are all passionate about delivering community-owned renewable energy projects. The projects that they have worked on are seriously impressive. They know so much and portray such confidence and professionalism. There is so much interest in the event, however, that many people, including me, are turned away as the venue capacity is reached. Although this is disappointing, I leave feeling intrigued about this dynamic movement that, only a short time ago, I had never even heard of.
At last, all of my talking starts to yield results. First one person says that they will join me! This feels like a real breakthrough, and it is quickly followed by another two people. This gives me the confidence to call people who I have never met, but who I know are leaders in local climate action and I am rewarded with more interest. Now, I have a group of around six interested people and that is enough to organise a meeting! These are really clever and highly successful, busy people. I am excited and, of course, nervous. Will I be able to convince them that we can work together to make community energy a reality in Barnet?
Comments