Sunniside Community Association receives £18,485 to support residents of Sunniside, Durham, with solar panels and battery storage.
The small rural village to the east of Tow Law and north of Crook in County Durham, Sunniside received financial support from the Northern Powergrid Foundation to enhance resilience. Sunniside Community Association which owns and runs the Sunniside Community Centre received £18,485 to support their residents with solar panels and battery storage at their community space. The centre is at the heart of the village running community shop and cafe as well supporting villagers through the current economic climate with various services run by volunteers. The support will help provide a sustainable energy source and enhanced community facilities to protect residents during a power crisis and also reduce energy cost and carbon footprint and allow the centre to be more self sufficient.
Suzanne, Sunniside Community Association volunteer said “The Foundation has enabled our community-ran centre to be resilient as a community hub at times of need but also benefit on the daily through lower energy bills. We are excited to see how the project stacks up in the winter and future winters after that. Without the support we wouldn’t be able to benefit from the solar panels and the batteries on the daily as we do right now, thanks so much to the Foundation.”
Sunniside photo caption L-R: MP Richard Holden, representatives of the Sunniside Community Association and Anne Haswell, on behalf of the Northern Powergrid Foundation outside of Sunniside Community Centre, Durham.
The challenges for Sunniside, Durham, residents
Due to the possibility of power interruptions at Sunniside and the impact they would have on the essential services offered to the local community the trustees identified a need to increase their resilience. 
The solution for Sunniside, Durham, residents
The trustees identified a need for solar panels and batteries to allow the hall to remain 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 £18,485 donation to go towards a solar panels and energy 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.