Something rather extraordinary is happening in a little town in Cornwall, something innovative, inspiring and very eco friendly.  The 10,000 residents of Wadebridge and the surrounding villages have come together and are organising themselves to create a social enterprise with the initial objective of creating 30% of their own energy by 2015.  They have named the project WREN – Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network and already have raised the interest of local, national and international media.

Wadebridge aim to create their energy primarily from Solar energy, by using residential and commercial solar PV installations, with owners of those roofs able to choose whether they have free installation, or pay for the PV panels and benefit from energy revenue as well as free power.  Plans are also in place to create a Greenfield solar farm, and biomass, geothermal and wind generation are also being considered.  The group are also looking at energy efficiency measures and electric vehicle options both for private, public and commercial travel in the area.

Chris Huhne the Secretary of State for energy and Climate change recently visited the town to find out what was going on.  WREN convener Stephen Frankel said

“The Secretary of State was very interested in the fact that a community the size of ours can make real inroads into its energy needs, and co-operate to bring sustainable prosperity at a time when many other forms of income are becoming more uncertain.”

With the government currently looking at solutions to meet the new carbon emission targets that they announced recently, perhaps this little community might even have started something that will directly impact government policy and consequently all our lives in the future.

Wadebridge will not only benefit from its own natural resources with free or cheap electricity and reduce their carbon emissions, but the community will also benefit financially to the tune of £300k per year from the sale of the energy they collectively produce.  The town will become the first place in the UK to undertake such an ambitious project, and will become a model for other communities to follow.  Their blueprint will be a model for any community with the same foresight and impetus.  Those who dare to follow will benefit from being able to stabilise their energy prices, reduce carbon emissions, benefit from their own local natural resources, create local jobs and stimulate their own local economy, oh and did I mention, help to save the planet?

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