Settle residents set up energy club to share renewable power

Residents of a North Yorkshire village have formed the first renewable energy club in the region in a bid to cut their costs and carbon footprint.

The Settle Energy Local Club (SELC) takes excess energy produced from solar panels on a local furniture business and passes it on to members at a discounted price.

Launched in August the club currently has six consumers and one generator, but is looking to expand within the area around Settle, Giggleswick and Langcliffe.

SELC secretary Paul Kelly said he hoped the club could “play our part in de-carbonising Settle and its locality.”

“If we can reduce our carbon footprint as a town, then we’re doing something positive towards addressing climate change,” he said.

The scheme in Settle works by club members buying the excess energy generated from the solar panels on top of Simon Robinson’s businesses, Slow Sofa and Dalesbred, for a discounted pre-agreed price.

So, when a member flicks on a kettle and Mr Robinson’s business is generating surplus energy a smart meter in their home matches up the supply and demand.

Sometimes it will be possible to match the demands of all the members with locally generated power but at other times the demand will outstrip the supply.

If that happens the consumer’s usual energy supplier will sell members the additional electricity they need at different rates depending on the time of day.

Mr Robinson, who received a grant from North Yorkshire County Council to install the solar array on the roof of his showroom and workshop, said the panels could produce about 17 to 20 kilowatts on a sunny day.

“I get exactly the same price for my electric that I would if I was selling it straight back into the grid,” he said.

“And, yet, the local community is buying it at 14p [per unit] rather than 23p,” he said.

“I just think it’s better for the local community to get that, rather than one of the big energy companies.”

There are more than 35 clubs that are part of the Energy Local initiative across Great Britain.

The first was set up in Bethesda, North Wales, in 2016, according to the company.

The future ambition for SELC is that it will continue to grow, bringing new consumers and generators onboard, Mr Kelly said.

“We’ve been looking for other reasonably sized generators in the town, and one of the ones that are keen to help are the churches,” he explained.

“The Catholic Church and Methodist Church in Settle have deliberately put a lot more solar panels on than they need for their own consumption in order they have surplus energy to export to the club.”

Mr Robinson added that it was “an exciting journey” to be able to share renewable energy across the town.”

“I think the scheme should grow all over Yorkshire – I’m fairly passionate about how we leave our legacy,” he said.