CoRE Network

Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Climate Change and Energy has announced the Award winners in the Big Green Challenge Plus.

He said “I was impressed by the quality of the shortlisted projects – and heartened to see so many people and groups across the country showing real initiative and ingenuity in their approaches. We want to support people in their efforts so they can reap the benefits of cleaner energy, a better quality of life, and stronger, cohesive communities.

”Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) has received the award of £20,000, plus a tailored package of support, as part of NESTA’s Big Green Challenge.

Ross Weddle, Manager of CoRE said, “We are all delighted. With this Award, from the Big Green Challenge Plus, CoRE has been recognised as an innovative project with a realistic aim of reducing carbon emissions from our projects”.

CoRE’s mission is ‘To embed renewables in the Voluntary and Community sector’. CoRE works in partnership with Voluntary and Community sector organisations to deliver them an income from locally owned renewable technologies. CoRE was established as a regionally based national pilot project with funding from OneNE in 2007. CoRE is now working across the NE, the NW and into Yorkshire; with communities from Siloth in Cumbria, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Upper Coquetdale, Morpeth, Newcastle, Teesdale, Leeds, and Sheffield.

Our two most advanced projects are in Berwick-upon-Tweed (where we have developed an 800kw wind turbine project that is about to apply for full planning permission) and in Cumbria (where we have developed an 1000kW Anaerobic Digester project that is also about to submit a full planning application). In Coquetdale we are looking at wood gasification, in Teesdale we are working with all 33 members of the Village Halls Consortium, in Leeds, Sheffield and Morpeth we are working with urban Development Trusts. In Newcastle we are working in the Ouseburn, in Arthur’s Hill and in Benton and with Tyneside Cyrenians.

20 July 2009