Once the supply has been secured at a set discount, co-ops will also install smart meters in members’ homes to help homeowners better manage how they use energy. A big step towards reducing the output of carbon emissions will occur when environmentally-friendly technologies are installed. Co-ops will install combined heat and power systems (CHPs), biomass boilers or heat pumps. CHPs work by capturing heat generated at power systems to heat the homes of local residents.
The co-op plan closely resembles a scheme underway in the Belgian province of Limburg where a purchasing cooperative was formed when fuel prices jumped following the deregulation of the Belgian energy market six years ago. Today 15,000 Belgian families have joined the energy co-op and save an average of €250 annually.
The Limburg scheme piqued the interest of the Co-operative party because Belgium’s energy market closely resembles the UK’s. According to a party spokesperson a series of pilot projects in Britain have proven the concept will work. One of these pilot schemes involved the Reddish Vale Technology College in Stockport.
The energy co-ops can fund their efforts by raising money through the Emissions Reductions Target which is designed to help along projects that benefit the environment. Similar to the way building societies raised funds in the 1980s to compete with high street banks, co-ops can use their status as mutual societies to raise capital from the community.
“There is a false choice that we have to kill: that is you can’t be green without it costing,” said Michael Stephenson, general secretary of the Co-operative party. “People want to be environmentally sensitive, but they see it as punitive.”
“The virtue of this scheme is that it says you can be environmentally sensitive, but save money,” Stephenson continued. “The key to reconciling those two objectives is you take a co-operative approach.”
“Communities should be able to work together to generate clean energy in their own area,” said Secretary Miliband. “We’re bringing in guaranteed feed-in rates so local wind or hydro power gets a cashback. We want communities to be able to work together to show their area can lead the way on climate change.”
Reddish Vale Technology College
Reddish Vale Road
Reddish, Stockport SK5 7HD
http://www.reddish.stockport.sch.uk
