Grand Union Community Energy (GUCE), a local community energy group working across Dacorum, Three Rivers, and Watford in South West Hertfordshire has been awarded £366,200 in funding from Ofgem’s Energy Redress Scheme to continue its flagship initiative, Heating Kings Langley, and explore innovative pathways to deliver cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable heating for local residents.
This significant investment marks a major milestone in GUCE’s mission to empower communities through sustainable energy solutions. The funding will enable the next phase of Heating Kings Langley, which has already begun laying the foundation through RCEF and CEF feasibility studies looking at community led low carbon heating options.
“The community is at the heart of everything we do at GUCE, and with the cost of living crisis we have been working harder than ever before to look for services and solutions to support residents in saving money and moving to renewable energy. The Heating Kings Langley project offers an innovative heating network that is accessible by everyone, not just those with the space and money to benefit from new technologies" said Sarah Burgess, Project Lead and one of the Directors of Grand Union Community Energy.
"Community Energy, and locally generated energy solutions, are crucial to a fair transition away from fossil fuels and while this project hasn’t been straightforward I'm really proud of the work the team have done on this project and how far we've pushed to come up with a solution that aims to deliver cheaper, cleaner energy for residents. This funding is a huge vote of confidence in the power of community energy and in everything we've been working on for the last three years,”
An open 5G district heat network with a phased approach is now being designed in detail and key stakeholders approached for input and involvement. The next 12 months will be busy for the GUCE team and hopefully provide lots of learnings for other community energy groups looking to do something similar.
More details on the project can be found here or on the scheme here.