Seeing is Believing (North East and Yorkshire)

Project overview

Community Energy ‘Seeing is Believing North East and Yorkshire’ was a programme that was funded and delivered by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub, in partnership with Community Energy England, Ashden and Centre for Sustainable Energy.

Seeing is Believing brought together community energy organisations, local authorities, anchor institutions, community groups and regional stakeholders in the North East and Yorkshire. It showed examples of how community energy organisations and local authorities can work together, and the benefits that community energy can deliver.

The programme also sought to highlight the importance of community energy to decision-makers, showing that community energy needs a place in local energy plans.

Seeing is Believing featured site visits, tours of local projects, practical examples, webinars, networking sessions and matchmaking sessions between local authorities and community energy organisations. The programme showcased inspiring projects across the region and enhanced new partnerships that support community energy. It highlighted examples of successful collaborations between local authorities and community energy organisations to inspire other collaborations, and demonstrated the positive impact this has had in the North East and Yorkshire.

Why Seeing is Believing matters

Local authorities and community energy organisations increasingly share priorities: cutting carbon emissions, lowering energy bills, engaging residents in the energy transition, improving local resilience, and creating community benefit. However, turning this ambition into action can be challenging.

Seeing is Believing addressed some key barriers by connecting councils and community groups with similar goals, sharing real project examples through site visits and tours, showing tangible examples of how successful collaborations have developed, and providing a platform for matchmaking to encourage new partnerships between community energy organisations and local authorities in the region.

Webinar recordings

Summary of tours and networking events

York tour

This tour focused on retrofit and community solar projects across Yorkshire, showcasing how local authorities and community organisations are delivering practical decarbonisation initiatives.

The visit, attended by 12 people, included a domestic retrofit project led by the City of York Council, which showcases a vast range of measures involved within a deep retrofit of a Victorian terrace property, including air-source heat pump and solar panels, insulation and HVAC ventilation systems.

This was followed by a visit to Monk Fryston & Hillam Community Centre (MHFCC), where participants explored a community solar PV 7.8 kW system, 10kW battery and air-source heat pump installation.

The tour also included a visit to Monk Fryston C of E Primary School, showcasing how the local school has partnered with MHFCC, Let’s Go Zero, and other groups to install solar panels, a battery and a heat pump, as well as how renewable energy and broader climate action measures can be integrated into educational settings.

Additional speaker presentations were provided by York Community Energy on their key learnings for delivering community energy in York.

“I’ve been given the task of creating a community energy strategy at my organisation and really don’t know where to start, so it’s been great to hear directly from those delivering great projects on the ground.” Sarah Edwards, Huddersfield Town FC

“We want to explore a community solar project at our parish council, so today has been a great learning exercise.” Cllr. Juliet Koprowska, Fulford Parish Council

Newcastle tour and networking event

This included a visit to a community centre and Newcastle’s heat network. Attendees had a tour of FAR community centre, who installed an air source heat pump and solar panels, supported by funding from the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. This has helped them to reduce their carbon emissions and their energy bills, and they are now also exploring the possibility of EV charging. The tour then finished at Newcastle’s District Energy Centre, an innovative heat network project that provides heat to buildings from a central source via a network of underground pipes.

This was followed by a networking event in the afternoon, where we heard from the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub about how they can support groups with community energy. Climate Action Northumberland and the Rural Design Centre spoke about successful case studies in their areas, and we heard about heat networks and zoning from the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. This was then followed by a Q&A and some rich group discussions on barriers and opportunities regarding community energy in the region.

“It’s been great to see first-hand the ins and outs of a district heat-network. We’re planning to support more of this technology at Northern Powergrid, so this has been really useful learning”. Jacqueline Critchley, Northern Powergrid Foundation.

Hull tour

This tour focused on community-led renewable energy and public sector decarbonisation projects in the Hull and East Riding area. This tour was attended by 14 people, including two local authority councillors, community energy groups, faith groups and an NHS trust.

Participants visited Sustainable Ferriby, where they explored a range of community initiatives, including a 50kW school solar installation, a community allotment project, and rooftop solar and battery installation on a community hall.

The tour then continued to Castle Hill Hospital, where attendees learned about the NHS’s journey in developing an 11,000-panel large-scale solar farm which generates 4,250,000 kWh, enough to power 1,400 homes, and saves 900 tonnes of carbon per year – saving £4.7m in energy bills since installation. Alongside this, an additional speaker presentation was provided by Derek Kirkby, Two Churches One Town, on their journey from gaining feasibility funding from the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub to planning the next steps of their community energy project.

“We don’t get much opportunity to get out and see community energy projects in the flesh. At BACS Renewables, we support community energy groups with a range of needs, and it’s been really helpful to learn first-hand the challenges that they’re grappling with”. Erin Cummings, Bacs Renewables.

Sheffield tour and networking event

The visit began at the Sheffield Energy Hub, a new one-stop shop in Sheffield City Centre showcasing a range of interactive energy-saving measures, such as insulation and draft exclusion equipment, as well as heat-pump equipment and information on community energy groups.

The tour then visited Five Rivers Co-Housing, a community-led housing development demonstrating sustainable living approaches that have incorporated 30 solar panels onto their common house to generate 9,500 kWh per year – paired with battery storage. On top of this, air-source heat pumps power the 22 residences on the site and battery storage in their housing estate.

This was followed by a networking event where we heard from the Hub, South Yorkshire Ecofit, Sheffield Renewables and Community Energy England. There was a panel discussion afterwards featuring all the speakers, with a key focus on the Local Power Plan.

“It’s fantastic to get out from behind the desk and to see how projects are actually being delivered on the ground, and what this means for green skills development”. Catherine Boyd, DESNZ.

Tees Valley tour and networking event

This tour focused on local authority-led renewable energy and regional collaboration across the Tees Valley, and was attended by 16 participants, which included a local councillor, local authority officers, community energy groups and voluntary sector organisations.

Participants visited Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to explore their 352kW rooftop solar PV system that is generating 281,000 kWh of energy annually, reducing bills by £70,000 and cutting 54tonnes CO2e. The local authority also discussed its wider decarbonisation programme, which includes introducing heat pumps in place of gas boilers and electrifying its car fleet

The tour concluded with a visit to the newly opened Eston Leisure Centre, showcasing a range of energy initiatives in a public building, ranging from solar panels and heat pumps to EV chargers and triple glazing.

Additional speaker presentations were provided by Whitby Esk Valley Hydro project on a community-owned 50kW Archimedes screw hydroelectric turbine on the River Esk at Ruswarp, near Whitby, North Yorkshire, as well as the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub.

“At my organisation, Solar Seed, we want to start a range of community energy projects. Attending this event and previous events are really helpful for us to see what types of projects are having success and how they have been achieved.” Horace Wang, XTRA Energy / Solar Seed