Woodland Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity receives £20,000 to support the residents of Woodland, Durham, with the solar panels and batteries.

Woodland Village Hall situated within the rural village of Woodland in County Durham, England, was supported by the Northern Powergrid Foundation with funds for the installation of Solar panels and battery backup to provide power and emergency battery backup.

Fifteen solar panels were installed on the village hall roof and an inverter, controller and backup batteries installed within the village hall. This means on a day to day basis the hall benefits from reduced electricity consumption from the grid, plus income from feedback payments and in terms of resilience for the community the village hall will be able to continue to function on emergency power from the backup batteries for at least two days.

Louise Newton, Chairperson, Woodland Village Hall Committee said “The support from the Foundation has allowed the hall to benefit on day to day basis from reduced electricity consumption from the grid and income from feedback payments. The hall is also resilient to emergency power interruptions which allows our community to use the hall for at least two days.”

Woodland Village Hall photo caption L-R: Josh Raffo, Thrift Energy, Brian Abbott, former Chairperson Woodland Village Hall, Louise Newton, Chairperson Woodland Village Hall Committee, Anne Haswell Northern Powergrid Foundation Project Manager.

The challenges for Woodland, Durham, residents

Due to the possibility of future power interruptions in the remote area of Woodland, Durham, the village hall committee identified a need to increase their energy resilience. 

The solution for Woodland, Durham, residents

The Woodland Village Hall identified a need for solar panels and batteries to allow the hall to be open for the local community to safely reside during times of power interruptions. 

Support from the Northern Powergrid Foundation

The Northern Powergrid Foundation supported the community project with a £20,000 donation to go towards solar panels and battery storage. 

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.