Community Energy Birmingham
Community Energy Birmingham, or CEB for short, is a particular co-operative known as a Community Energy Group.
These seek to reduce carbon emissions by either improving the efficiency of people’s homes and businesses (therefore reducing their energy consumption and carbon emissions) or by producing renewable energy. With almost 500 different community energy groups across the UK, they can bring about direct improvements to the way in which communities operate from the bottom up. CEB strives to reduce carbon emissions across the greater Birmingham region by first, increasing the production of renewable energy via solar panels, and second, by improving the energy efficiency of Brummie (Birmingham) homes.
On the production side, CEB issues share offers to its members to raise money to install PV Solar on buildings across the city. From the money generated from the sale of renewable energy, a portion is returned to the original investors as interest while another portion can be used to invest in further renewable energy programmes or in projects to improve local communities. CEB’s sites can be found across the city, ranging from community buildings and stadiums to local businesses and public services.
In terms of improving energy efficiency, CEB is launching their Home Energy Advice service which provides expert and impartial advice on how to improve households’ energy use through retrofits and changes to their lifestyle. Simple changes to insulation, double-glazed windows and efficient appliances can make a huge difference to a household’s energy consumption, slashing energy bills as well as making a dent in a household’s carbon emissions.
For more information, visit communityenergybirmingham.coop
