Dragonfly Power is partnering with Community Energy South to deliver a two year community energy programme which aims to help communities across the Test Valley reduce their carbon emissions and save money. The Test Valley Community Energy Programme was officially launched in June. Through this programme we will be:
- Developing a pipeline of community owned energy projects in the Test Valley
- Helping community buildings to reduce their energy costs.
- Developing a network of trained energy champions across the Borough who can provide household energy advice
- Working with two rural communities in the Borough to develop community led decarbonisation plans.
Meet the Team
Dragonfly Power is a volunteer-led, Community Benefit Society whose aim is to increase the update of renewable energy across the Test Valley and help accelerate the move to net zero. We grew out of Transition Town Romsey but now cover the whole borough. We are a team of 8 volunteer directors committed to helping the Test Valley to reduce its carbon emissions.
Community Energy South is one of the leading community energy organisations in the UK. It provides in depth support and mentoring to community energy groups and help them build sustainable projects and organisations.
Community solar projects
We are in discussions with a number of schools and other community buildings across the borough to understand if they would be suitable sites for community owned solar. If they are and the sites would like to partner with us, we will then move forward to the next stage of development and hopefully installation of solar PV. As a reminder, a suitable site for a community energy project is one that has:
- A large, strong roof, flat or with southerly aspect
- Substantial year-round energy demand
- Occupants who own the building or have a long lease
If you know of any buildings in your area get in touch! With high energy prices continuing to have a huge impact, there's never been a better time to work with community energy.
Community buildings
We recently applied to the SSEN Communities Resilience Fund for a grant which would allow us to carry out in depth energy audits of four community buildings in the Test Valley to help them understand what measures they'd need to take to reduce their energy consumption and generate their own heat and electricity. We want to help community buildings and the communities they serve to become as resilient as possible in the face of rising energy prices and extreme weather events.
Volunteer with us
We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds, ages (over 18) and skillsets. We can offer you the opportunities to lead projects you're interested in, become a local energy champion, meet new like-minded people and help grow our group! We are particularly interested in hearing from people who are skilled in social media and comms.
Events and talks
We been giving talks and presentations at a number of parish councils and other community organisations across the borough. If you would like us to come and speak to your group, Parish Council or event about community energy and how they can get involved, please contact us.
