Community group hopes to 'leave fossil fuels behind' with green energy scheme

Morecambe Bay Community Renewables (MORE Renewables) is looking at the feasibility of a heat network at a cluster of buildings in rural Yealand Conyers.

The owner of the buildings, Lancashire Central and North Area Quaker Meeting, want to move away from fossil fuel heating. 

MORE Renewables is considering an ambient loop system or a high temperature system powered by a central heat pump or biomass boiler. Options including solar panels or a wind turbine to provide electricity for a heat pump system are also being considered.

The group has been successful in applying for a grant from the Community Energy Fund. This helps urban and rural communities to get projects off the ground, such as solar panel networks, wind farms and hydro power, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging points and car clubs.

Anne Chapman, from Morecambe Bay Community Renewables, said:

"In the next decade or so, we will all need to heat our properties without burning gas, leaving fossil fuels behind.

"This will reduce air pollution in and outside our homes and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, which are causing climate change. With measures to improve insulation, this should be greener and cheaper in the long run.

"This project will look at what is the best way of doing this for the group of properties in Yealand, which are all over 100-years-old, and some of which are listed.  It will also provide lessons for how to heat such properties elsewhere." 

The Community Energy Fund is being rolled out locally by the North West Net Zero Hub in conjunction with Lancashire County Council and funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as part of a national £10million programme.

The village of Yealand Conyers contains many buildings dating back to the seventeenth century. The Old School is on one such site which also includes a Quaker Meeting House from the early days of Quaker history. The Old School, established in the 18^th century, provided accommodation, in particular for young people, including evacuees in 1940s. It has since gone on to provide holiday accommodation for visitors to this quiet beauty spot in a unique historic setting.

Councillor Phillippa Williamson, leader of Lancashire County Council, said:

"We are absolutely committed to protecting Lancashire's environment and it is one of our four key priorities. Reducing greenhouse gases, ensuring infrastructure and services are resilient to climate change and clean, affordable energy are all incredibly important.

"As a council we also know how crucial it is that we work with communities and partner organisations so that we can achieve these aims, as we cannot do it in isolation. We want to build on all the good work that has already been done.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Yealand Conyers project progresses and all the lessons we can learn from it as we continue to focus on introducing more clean, affordable energy schemes in Lancashire."