Grindon Parish Hall sought funds from Northern Powergrid Foundation for solar panels and battery storage for energy resilience and energy efficiency reasons at their Teesside hall. 

Grindon Parish Hall, located in the picturesque village of Thorpe Thewles, Stockton, has been serving the community for over 100 years. They provide a meeting place and hub for those in the village and the surrounding area, but due to rising costs they began looking at ways to make the hall resilient and more energy efficient.  That's when they were alerted to the grant funding available for resilience projects in the North East, Yorkshire, and northern Lincolnshire via Northern Powergrid Foundation.   

Chris Chapman, Chair of Trustees at Grindon Parish Hall, has welcomed the arrival of the brand-new technology in the hopes it reduces their energy bills and thus pass on benefits to the community, "Our plans for increased usage of the hall is in full swing, so we need solar panels and battery storage to help offset the energy used and reduce costs. It's great to have renewable technology in an old building, it brings the building into a modern era, and enables further activities and events to be held at the hall. The Hall tries accommodate the community’s needs, but we can't do this alone, we are lucky to have received funding to support this resilience project."  

Chris recently became the Grindon Parish Hall Chair of the Trustees in the summer of 2023, joining shortly after moving into the village and wanting to be a part of the village after early retirement from an executive role.  Grindon Parish Hall received £4,000 to part fund solar panels and battery storage which will help safeguard the future of the hall for the residents of Thorpe Thewles, Stockon-on-Tees. The panels and the battery will provide the hall with energy resilience allowing it to serve the local residents in times of power interruptions, and enable the hall to be used for additional activities and events. The savings in energy costs will enable trustees to pass on benefits to users and will help the establishment of a regular youth club and safe/warm space at the hall.  

The challenges for Grindon, Teesside, residents

Due to the rising cost of energy bills and running costs of the hall the trustees of the Grindon Parish Hall identified a need to be more cost efficient. 

The solution for Grindon, Teesside, residents

The trustees of the Grindon Parish Hall identified that solar panels and battery was solution that provide cost efficiency but also provides resilience.

Support from the Northern Powergrid Foundation

The Northern Powergrid Foundation supported the community project with a £4,000 donation to go towards solar panels and battery. 

More about the Northern Powergrid Foundation

The Northern Powergrid Foundation’s mission, complementing Northern Powergrid’s ambition to be a force for good in the communities it serves, is to support communities most affected by changes in the economy, environment, and society because of the shifting energy landscape. This will be achieved by supporting projects focused on helping to tackle energy resilience during emergency events, vulnerability, fuel poverty, levelling the rural divide, innovation, social support, and community collaboration. Funds are available to support the communities across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire served by Northern Powergrid.

Interested parties should visit our 'who and what we fund' page to understand what support may be given to other community projects.