Stocksfield Community Association receives £20,000 to support the residents of Stocksfield, Northumberland, with storage batteries and emergency power circuitry.
Stocksfield Community Association, on behalf of the Stocksfield Community Centre, received £20,000 from The Northern Powergrid Foundation in support of the community venue becoming a crisis centre for its local residents of the village of Stocksfield, Northumberland. The funds are to provide the centre with storage batteries, allowing for a self-sufficient energy source, to compliment the previously installed solar panels, two AC chargers and emergency power switch circuitry to increase the community centre’s energy resilience during power outages and to reduce energy bills. The storage batteries can store over 16 kWH of energy which will allow the community centre to remain operational for about two days.
Norman Hooks, Stocksfield Community Centre Chair of Trustees said “We spent some time researching environmentally friendly solutions and developing our project. We would recommend others do the same to get a community project that is not just fit for purpose, but also has longevity. The funds from the Foundation have allowed our Community Centre to improve its energy efficiency, to decrease gas consumption and reduce our energy bills by utilising the energy stored in the batteries to heat the evening activities when the centre is predominantly used. Should there be a power disruption, our batteries enable the centre to be kept open and serving local residents for up to three days”.
In the picture L-R: Norman Cook, Stocksfield Community Association Trustee, Barbara Brayshaw, Stocksfield Community Association Chair and Anne Haswell, Northern Powergrid Project Manager inside of Stocksfield Community Centre.
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The challenges for Stocksfield, Northumberland, residents
Due to the possibility of further power interruptions at Stocksfield and the impact they would have on the essential services offered to the local community the trustees identified a need to increase their resilience and efficiency.
The solution for Stocksfield, Northumberland, residents
The trustees of Stocksfield Community Centre identified a need to add batteries to their existing solar panels to allow the hall to remain open for the local community to safely reside during times of power interruptions as well as benefit from energy efficiency.
Support from the Northern Powergrid Foundation
The Northern Powergrid Foundation supported the community project with a £20,000 donation to go towards energy storage batteries. 
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.