Chester Community Energy Ltd has once again awarded grants to local community groups from revenues received from its rooftop solar PV panels on leisure centres in West Cheshire. A total of £5000 was offered to local charities and community groups for energy reduction measures in their buildings. Application forms were sent out online by Cheshire West Voluntary Action who once again helped with the administration of the awards. Five applications were received this year and four were short-listed to attend a joint interview session to enable the difficult task of selecting the successful applicants. A panel of four members of CCEL were responsible for the selection process and choosing the most deserving applications. The panel consisted of Julie Savory, Sue Steeland, Graham Booth and Simon Brown.

Applications were received from:

1. The Boaty Theatre Company, Ellesmere Port
2. Chester FC Community Trust
3. Dial West Cheshire
4. Campbell Memorial Hall
5. Caldy Valley Neighbourhood Centre

The successful applicants were:

1. Dial West Cheshire, who received £1600 for new LED lighting to their premises in Hamilton Place, Chester.
2. Campbell Memorial Hall, who received £2000 for LED lighting to their premises on the A51 in Boughton.
3. Caldy Valley Neighbourhood Centre, who received £1000 towards a total LED retrofit of their premises on Caldy Valley Road.

The successful applicants were delighted to be helped by the new fund which will be awarded annually. The amount of funding in the future will depend in part on the unpredictable British weather but it is hoped that the present level of funding will be maintained. Graham Booth, a director of CCEL, said “There are so many local voluntary groups providing excellent support to their communities and we would love to offer more help. Even though government financial support and incentives for renewable energy are not available any more, CCEL are working hard to grow the business so that more money can be re-cycled back into the community. Like many other community energy organisations, we are looking for ways to bring energy generation into community ownership and share the rewards within our communities”.