VILLAGERS in Humshaugh are pursuing funding for their own solar farm as they accelerate ambitions to become the first Net Zero community in Northumberland.
The group leading the decarbonisation drive in Humshaugh has met with consultants arranged by Co-operatives UK, who are advising on further ways to raise money, which would give their efforts a significant boost.
And the hope is that the expert advice and support will lead to the construction of the solar farm, which will turbocharge the drive to eventually eliminate Humshaugh’s carbon footprint.
Planning permission for the solar farm on a field unsuitable for farming, just outside the village, has already helped secure more than £100,000 from supportive villagers to a community interest company.
However, the solar farm, which is crucial to the hopes of sustainable renewable energy for Humshaugh, requires more than six times that amount of investment.
And in the last few weeks, specialist advisers, Our Community Enterprise (OCE), have visited the village to assess the project and advise on extending the group’s community share issue.
Michael Beaven, OCE director, and Charlotte Martin, community engagement consultant, made a trip to the North East and visited the site of the solar farm at Lincoln Hill with the Humshaugh Net Zero Group.
Michael said: “Co-operative UK delivers a Booster Fund which offers development grants and equity investment, and we work with groups that are fundraising.
“It is all about community engagement and benefits and helping projects get over the line. Humshaugh Net Zero has done an amazing job, but there’s always a point with projects like this where you get to the limits of what you can do alone.
“We would look to broaden the membership and interest and increase investment – the Booster Fund invests for the long-term, generally up to £50,000 as match-funding.
“It loves to set standards on projects like these and showcase best practices.”
That last point is an important one for David Still and Nick Hayward of the Humshaugh Net Zero group.
David said: “Firstly, we want to show it can be done – that a small community can do its best to reduce its carbon footprint to zero – and then we would love to help other villages in Northumberland do the same.
“We appreciate this isn’t something that works so easily for towns and cities, which face different challenges, but for small village communities, we think it’s achievable and we want to show it can be done.”
The political climate has shifted since Humshaugh Net Zero was launched five years ago, at a time when there was a growing international consensus on the need to address climate change and reduce fossil fuel pollution.
That was a world before the rise of Donald Trump and the Reform Party’s anti-net-zero policies, as well as the politicisation of the issue.
“We don’t think it should be a political thing,” said Nick. “We’re motivated by the desire to leave a better, safer world for future generations and a desire to be able to show the benefits of choosing things like clean, renewable energy over fossil fuels, delivering reduced pollution, cleaner air and a sustainable environment.
“A few years ago, when all political parties were following the science and agreeing on coming together on this issue, our group felt that action was being driven from the top down, and even though that was a good thing, it was important that it was also taken from the ground up – that ordinary people could get involved.
“That’s what we’ve been doing.
“When we were first formed, we carried out research to assess what Humshaugh’s carbon footprint was, and we’ve been reducing it ever since with every solar panel, air source heat pump and electric car helping to reduce it.”
The solar farm, though, is seen as crucial to efforts to bring the finishing line within sight, and David says the group is delighted to have so many people in Humshaugh supporting them.
He said: “We didn’t have a similar objection to the solar farm proposal, and I think that has to be an absolute rarity these days.”
The site is unsuitable for farming and therefore does not take agricultural land out of circulation, but would deliver over one gigawatt-hours of power – enough energy to power more than half the village.
Additionally, it would generate modest profits from selling energy back into the national grid, which would be used to support further decarbonisation efforts.
These initiatives aim to improve the lives of villagers by delivering affordable and clean renewable energy locally, as well as enhancing insulation and implementing other community-benefiting ideas.
Nick added: “We’re grateful for the financial assistance from Co-operatives UK, enabling Our Community Enterprise’s help and support, but we’re also on the lookout for any investment we can receive from other interested investors.
“In the end, it is going to be a collaborative effort if it is going to succeed – but then, so are the world’s efforts to reach Net Zero by 2050 – and we think that policies should take advantage of communities like ours where residents want to help and support.”
The community group is also hoping to attract support from North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and the North East Combined Authority, as well as seeking to gain backing from GB Energy, which has shown a genuine interest in community energy schemes.
Local politicians have been supportive too, including Hexham MP Joe Morris, who has raised the subject of Humshaugh with the Government’s energy secretary.
“We think that community energy projects are key to the country achieving net zero nationally,” said Nick.
“More schemes have got to be encouraged and the whole process and funding has to become easier, and quicker but we are hopeful and determined as a group and glad to be pushing on right now with the help of the Co-operatives UK and Our Community Enterprise.”
