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News June 2014

The Photovoltaic system is now up and running on two of Hockerwood Eggs Ltd chicken shed roofs. The installation was commissioned on the 14th March. After a few minor teething problem we soon went into full production with the installers Gwent Energy and Green Park Power really working hard to make things happen smoothly – a big thank you to them. This has been a great step forward in diversifying our income stream and increasing the renewable energy generated.

We have set up a monitoring system so members can access the production data on line.

The turbine has continued to be unreliable over the past few months. After we replaced the main processors (computer controls) at the beginning of the year we have had many communication faults. Hockerton Housing Project’s team has been able to get the turbine going again quite quickly but the service engineers have struggled to find a permanent solution. This situation is ongoing but has possibly been resolved recently. The directors have reserved more money for repairs so the interest payments planned are slightly down on last year. On the 30th April 2014 the directors agree an interest payment of 5.5% taking into account the current technical problems with the turbine. This will be paid out shortly so please look out for a cheque in the post. In turn this will also effect the donation to village this year. It feels like the decision to install PV panels was a good one!

Our wider aim to make Hockerton more sustainable has been gathering pace, £23 000 has been allocated to date from the turbine. We have had great success in encouraging local residence to take action to save energy. Many households have installed LED lights, insulated curtains and loft insulation to name but a few. I’ve put some of the feedback below which is all very positive. Other projects underway include installing an electric car charging point at the pub and inviting local groups to learn more about sustainability at Hockerton Housing Project. If you or your friends are interested there is an open booking sustainable living tour coming up soon.

Feedback from Hockerton Residents

I would just like to say thank you for the £200 incentive to be more environmentally friendly. I purchased 20 LED bulbs which are all through the house. The lights look great and cost a fraction of the price of normal bulbs to run. I will definitely be buying LED from now on.
Thank you again
Regards
Suzanne=

We live in a property in Hockerton with a large glass frontage. Whilst aesthetically-pleasing it can be very cold during the winter months due to poor insulation. Sustainable Hockerton's village initiative enabled us to replace our curtains with thermal-lined curtains. The difference is staggering and I'm sure they will reduce our heating bills over time.
Lisa Parkes

I have dropped off my collection of receipts for LED bulbs etc. Have re-bulbed the whole house.
Has certainly made a difference - my 32 day electricity consumption for Nov-Dec period appears to be 25% below annual average for a month which given it is a winter month is fantastic!!
Thanks to SHOCK for encouraging me to make the change – like all converts – with total conviction I am now browbeating all my friends and encouraging them to make the change!!
Kind regards
Ralph

Sincere thanks to the Sustainable Hockerton project for helping us when we were in need by funding a measure to save money, improve comfort and benefit the environment. After recently moving we were completely oblivious of the poor level of insulation in our large loft. Over the winter the house was freezing cold and the frequent supplies of oil to keep it warm were extremely costly. It was only by chance when we ventured into the loft we realised there were only two inches of insulation. Despite contacting a number of agencies we were not eligible for a grant and it was left to us to fund. Finally a local contractor was sourced and the work undertaken. Since then we have been amazed by the result, the boiler is subsequently reset on a much lower temperature and the time settings significantly reduced, we have been more frugal with ordering oil which has reduced the heating costs and we are all much warmer. At the time Sustainable Hockerton was offering support with environmental initiatives and they certainly came to our rescue in part funding the process. Since then we have undertaken other projects such as insulated linings for curtains to conserve heat and we are gradually replacing bulbs with low voltage options.
Chrissie Bousfield

£200 offer to every home and business in Hockerton

Residents of Hockerton, we have £200 for each houshold to go towards a wide range of energy saving measures, all from our community-owned wind turbine. The offer, which is open until March 2014, covers the quick wins identified in recent assessments in the parish and include warmer curtains, insulation, water saving devices and high quality energy efficient lighting….. please email enquiries@sustainablehockerton.org to find out more. Down load a leaflet here.

Liz Lainé, Director of Sustainable Hockerton Ltd, said “This offer is just one example of how we can help residents. We have also funded the insulation of the village hall, a phonebox library and independent energy advice worth £300 for each participating household. The concept of sustainable development is broad and we can use the funds to support a huge range of ideas that will benefit the local economy, environment and community whilst also supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

“More offers are on their way, but we are continuing to build a reserve so that we can support substantial projects, whether that be green space for the village, helping those who want to move away from oil or LPG heating systems, or more renewable energy uptake What we need now is the people with the time and resources to make those ideas a reality. ”

The wind turbine installed in Hockerton in 2010, following a successful community venture to raise £235,000 and a planning process that, from all potential locations, saw residents select the site closest to the village. Having built up its reserves in case of maintenance costs, the turbine is now paying an average of 7.75% interest to its shareholders and has raised £25,000 for projects in the village that support sustainable development. It has also saved 507 tonnes CO2 equivalent carbon emissions, and produced 974 285 kWh equivalent to the electricity use in the village all by April 2013.

Previous News

We need your thoughts and help. With all the predictions of accelerating climate change it seems appropriate to write. “How best to make the way we live more sustainable?” Can you help answer this question?

Over the last couple of years various community events have taken place in the village and at these ideas gathered on how to best promote sustainability locally. (See enclosed sheet.) Some ideas require land, money and most, peoples help.

Fortunately the village wind turbine has been successfully producing energy as well as generating a considerable pot of money to help achieve some of these potential developments. This pot now totals £11,496 and is likely to increase substantially again next year and all subsequent years while the turbine is running. (The amount will depend on the wind but could be about £10 000 a year.) The directors of Sustainable Hockerton (SHL) are empowered to decide how this money is spent in the village and would like to take into account your opinion, along with as many other people living and working in the parish.

The directors would really appreciate your feedback on how to spend the money most effectively. Please email enquiries@sustainablehockerton.org If you could give your thoughts on the options listed on the form enclosed that would be great. Also if you have any extra ideas please do add them to the comments box. Time and energy will be required to implement suggestions so any offers of help will really contribute to making things happen - please feel free to get in touch. Even with money to fund improvements we will need people power!

SHL has so far supported a few village events and helped support the creation of a “book swap” in the phone box (On going issues re broken door! But hopefully soon to open!). With such a large fund now available it seems appropriate to gather as many views as possible. Please remember that the bulk of the money should be spent in the parish and broadly inline with promoting sustainability. (As per the aims of Sustainable Hockerton Ltd, available on the web site, ”About us” section http://www.sustainablehockerton.org/aboutus.html ).

If you wish to have your opinions taken into account please complete the enclosed form and return it in the stamped address envelope provided. Ideally; could you limit the number of “Strongly wish to see happen” to up-to and no more than 4 or 5 responses so we can judge your primary focus.

Please bear in mind we have been progressing the ideas for a community open space and footpath. Both require land and at the moment we have not found anyone willing to let us use/buy/rent land to help with these. If you are able to support us in this area please let us know. (Also note that the council quoted over £500 000 to make a footpath to Southwell so we may have to save a long time for this option!)

INTEREST PAYMENTS 2012

It is with great pleasure I can announce that we are to pay interest on your share capital held in Sustainable Hockerton Limited again this year. We are also planning to give more money to the village to support their sustainable ventures.

The directors met on 23^rd April 2012 and decided we could pay 8% interest. This is more than last year due to the good wind speeds we had. We also intend to give £10 000 to the village; this latter payment will be made available from late August.

These amounts were felt to be prudent as a cash reserve has been built of just over £53 000. This reserve is separate from the interest payment and donations money.

The AGM will be held later this month on the 22^nd September with a village BBQ held after!

It has been a windy year so far. As you can see from the graph we are up by about 23% on last years figures to November. (Last year April to November output was 172 663 kWh this year it’s 211 900 kWh.

The FiT payments went up in April from 18.8p/kWh to 19.7p/kWh and Good Energy Ltd have also just increased the amount they pay us for electricity from 3.4p/kWh to 4.8p/kWh. All in all looking quite good for this year’s potential revenue! As an operator of a single turbine we are exposed to risks of breakdown so we have continued with the servicing and keep a close eye on its operation.

Unfortunately turbines near here have been broken into on several occasions and the internal wiring stolen - probably for the scrap copper. As you can imagine this causes severe disruption, inconvenience and lost revenue. To deter thieves and vandals the directors took the decision to up rate the security on our turbine door and plant room. We have also installed an alarm system. As well as sounding a siren it automatically notifies a security firm who will attend promptly to investigate. I believe some thieves were apprehended in this way on a neighbouring wind farm. It’s a sad turn of events to have to consider these actions, please be vigilant.

On a more pleasant note we have been progressing some more actions with the village to become more sustainable. We are looking at turning the village phone box into a book swap venue. We are progressing the idea of creating a footpath from Hockerton to Southwell and looking to develop a village green. We have had designed an information board to communicate more with residents. We are encouraging people to take up energy saving measures with financial support and we are having a village get-together in the pub to discuss these ideas and plans - and for a celebration!

Some investors have donated their interest payment to support our sustainable enterprises. Thank you very much for this.

And now a plug for the Hockerton Housing Project Harvesting The Wind Workshop 28th January 2012. Perfect for communities wanting to put up a wind turbine. Click HHP Workshop Harvesting the Wind for more details.

Finally I would like to pass on some news from Co-operatives UK – we seem to be part of a growing band! (The Guide seems useful as do the case studies, especially the PV on the school roof example, page 25.)

As we come to the end of 2011, I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank you for your work in support of community and co-operative models of energy.

As I look back over the year, what sticks in my mind is the flourishing of so many green energy co-operatives. Despite the economic woes, the co-operative sector is growing in a dynamic way – and none more so than around renewable energy, with the time, money and commitment of local people.

Only this week we’ve seen Co-operatives UK member Bath and West Community Energy complete what is to date the largest community share issue for solar, raising over £700,000 from local people.

It’s in this context that I’m delighted to send you a pre-release copy of our new report, ‘Co-operative renewable energy in the

. A guide to this growing sector’ which is now available on our website at www.uk.coop/renewable, although it is not formally published until tomorrow.

Written by Becky Willis and Jenny Willis and funded by The Co-operative Group, the report covers the key characteristics of energy co-operatives as well as challenges and benefits. There are now 43 communities who are in the process of or already producing renewable energy, and together have invested over £16 million.

Can we scale up community energy to a level that can green our communities and reinvest in local economies? I believe we can - working with many of you.

So, please do circulate this to your networks and contacts. I would welcome your feedback and by all means join our current discussion group on energy co-operatives on our LinkedIn page here: http://s.coop/7r06

Next year promises to be a pivotal year for our cause. The United Nations International Year of Co-operatives offers a once in a generation chance to accelerate change. I look forward to working with you to help us build an unstoppable movement for a people-centred economy, powered, naturally, by renewable energy.

Interest payments and production 27th June 2011 The directors of Sustainable Hockerton Limited have announce that they are able to pay interest on share capital held in the society and give some money to the village to support their sustainable ventures. The directors met on 23rd May 2011 and decided to pay 5% interest and give a substantial sum to the village; this latter payment being made available from late August 2011. A cash reserve has also been built up for any repairs. In addition to the financial benefit there is also an environmental benefit from the energy generated. The total production of the turbine was 239 358 kWh in 2010 which is equivalent to 131 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent - based on a conversion factor of 0.545KgCO2/kWh. Please note that we only started producing in the last week of January! Time to celebrate - Hockerton