Neston Community Energy secures just under £38,000  grant funding in its first year

Neston Community Energy, a Community Energy organisation run by local volunteers, has announced that it has received a grant from the Community Energy Fund. The grant will be used to obtain a feasibility study to investigate  whether the landfill site on the Clayhill Industrial Estate, next to Neston Recycling Centre, would be a suitable site for a solar park.

Consultants Scene Connect Ltd, who are specialists in local energy initiatives, will be carrying out the study. They will be looking at the suitability of the site and considering the financial viability of possible schemes.

Susan Davies, Chair of Neston Community Energy Limited said “It is less than a year since we formed, and we are very excited to embark on the Clayhill Solar Park Study. The study is possible thanks to  a grant of almost £38,000 which has been made possible by an initiative of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The Community Energy Fund is distributed regionally through the North West Net Zero Hub and Lancashire County Council who have helped us with the application process. Back in March, Officers from the Transport, Highways and Climate Change Department at Cheshire West and Chester suggested that we looked at the Council- owned landfill site as the basis of a solar park project, and we have received support from both them and our local councillor. It would be a real achievement to make productive use of land which is otherwise unusable.”

Work on the study has already started and there has been an initial inspection of the site. There will be further surveys and  events are planned for members of the public to see preliminary proposals early next year. Susan said, “We are a community benefit society with local people at the heart of our efforts to increase green energy generation locally, reduce reliance on central supplies and reduce emissions. If a scheme is successful, it can  produce financial benefits which can be returned to the local community in a variety of ways. We hope that as many people as possible will come to the planned events in January and February 2025, not only to find out about the Clayhill project, but also to find out more about what we do.”

Anyone wishing to find out more can contact Neston Community Energy at nestoncommunityenergy@gmail.com.