Power to the people!
Local people are being invited to take control of their own energy needs by switching over to Nenagh-based electricity provider Community Power.
An award-winning local success story - that recently featured on RTÉ's Nationwide programme - Community Power is Ireland’s first community-owned electricity supplier. Based at Friar's Court in Nenagh, the company is a partnership of community energy groups working for a sustainable energy future for Ireland.
Community Power purchases clean, renewable electricity generated from micro wind, solar, biogas and hydro plants around the country and sells it on to is customers - many of whom are also shareholders in the company. Providing green energy at a fair price, this local company is quickly growing from strength to strength and now has several hundred customers enjoying its benefits.
'Power to Empower'
THE Community Power story began in 2012. It was a natural progression from Templederry Wind Farm - still Ireland's only community-owned windfarm - which generates roughly the same amount of electricity used by the town of Nenagh from its two turbines.
Now Nenagh's Community Power is one of a partnership of six energy communities around the country - including Energy Communities Tipperary Cooperative - with as many as 20 more similar projects lined up to follow suit.
A key aspect of the Community Power ethos is its meaningful ownership structure for communities and individuals in the renewable energy sector. It ensures that the surplus revenue generated stays in the communities, thereby buttressing the local circular economy.
And keeping things local is a central tenet of encouraging people to sign their electricity up with Community Power. It's about moving away from the large-scale electricity supply companies - most of which are foreign-owned - in favour of local community ownership. This a Tipperary company, employing five jobs locally in Nenagh with nine people in other communities across Ireland, and seeking to expand in the near future.
So, as well as power, jobs are being kept local and that in turn supports the local economy in ways that the big energy companies are not.
Energy for all
ANYONE can sign up to Community Power - you don't have to have deep pockets, you don't have be part of a business or an organisation, and you don't have to have a big solar panel on your roof either!
Community Power is meeting the energy needs of a very wide range of customers, from domestic to farmers, schools, churches community buildings and small businesses. A whole cross-section of society is covered, and the list is growing all the time.
The sign-up process is very straightforward. The only information new customers will need is their MPRN number and bill.
And the customer is assured a fair price for their electricity needs. Community Power are upfront about fair pricing: Their service is not focused on the cheapest you will find. But, unlike those foreign-owned suppliers, there are no complicated sign-ups or hidden charges with Community Power. There's no contract - you can leave at any time. And there's no call centre with automated customer service - if you contact Community Power, you will be talking to a local operator with a direct interest in your query. Indeed, this personal interaction is what has made Community Power such a popular choice with many of its customers.
A climate action movement
PEOPLE who buy into Community Power are buying into an idea, a movement, a determination to bring Ireland's energy usage down to sustainable levels. The local company recognises that our country's energy system is in crisis, with over 90% reliance on climate-polluting fossil fuels, even though many people are struggling to pay high energy bills in cold homes.
The Irish Climate Action Plan for 2030 aims to reach 70% renewable electricity within the next 10 years. Currently, less than 30% of our electricity comes from renewable sources.
Community Power's mission is to support Ireland to run on clean, renewable power, while also allowing people to have a real stake in that power, and own it for themselves. To that end, the Nenagh-based company is involved in several innovative projects at the cutting edge of new technology within the energy sector, the benefits of which it wants to pass to its customers. Community Power has secured funding from the EU as well as Ireland in that regard, and earlier this year it received the Citizens’ Award at the EU Sustainable Energy Week for their Interreg-funded Community-Based Virtual Power Plant Project.
Contacts and further information
GRATEFUL to Tipperary Energy Agency for helping it to get off in the ground in the first place, Community Power is now imparting guidance of its own and actively encouraging other communities around the country to follow suit, so they too can take control of their own energy. The company is continuing to buy renewable power that is owned by communities, co-operatives or citizens, and is hoping to add solar power to its range in the near future.
To find out more about Community Power and everything you need to know about making that all-important switch, visit the Nenagh company's highly-informative website, www.communitypower.ie Phone 067 56005 or send an email to info@communitypower.ie