Woodland Village Hall in Bishop Auckland, Durham has received funding from the Northern Powergrid Foundation to help provide a sustainable energy source to protect residents during a power crisis. The Northern Powergrid Foundation, established by Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity distribution network that powers the lives of 8 million people in the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, is passionate about being able to support communities and creating resilient and thriving communities through access to funds.

Woodland Village Hall

Woodland Village Hall situated within the rural village of Woodland in County Durham, England received £16,388.50 from The Foundation in support of solar panels and battery backup to provide power and emergency battery backup.

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.

Support offered by the Northern Powergrid Foundation

The funding awarded is part of a batch of successful applications to The Northern Powergrid Foundation, which was set up to support and improve local community energy resilience. The Foundation is proud to have funded over 40 unique and exciting energy resilience projects so far for communities within Northumberland and County Durham (totalling £560,000). These projects have largely been for the creation or the expansion of community hubs with energy resilience pieces of kit such as generators, solar panels, batteries and heat pumps.  

The funded communities are delivering unique and exciting projects that will have a lasting impact by enabling hubs to be self-sufficient in supporting their residents today, tomorrow and in the future. Projects include the establishment or the expansion of community hubs so that the likes of community halls and parish halls can play a vital role in keeping their community safe and warm during power interruptions with the introduction of solar panels, heat pumps and generators and energy storage with the likes of batteries. 

Louise Lowes, Northern Powergrid Foundation Trustee said: “I’m delighted that The Foundation has supported Woodland’s project. Not only does the community benefit with a place of refuge during times of power interruptions but also will see a reduction in energy bills. The Foundation is looking forward to supporting more community projects served by Northern Powergrid on all the charity priority areas in due course”.

More about The Northern Powergrid Foundation

The Northern Powergrid Foundation will officially launch soon, before the official launch communities from across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire served by Northern Powergrid can apply in this current round. The 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. The Foundation will work with community partners to identify the best ways to create a positive and enduring impact for communities located within Northern Powergrid’s region.

The Foundation will be open for applications biannually. The Foundation is currently open to grant applications from all communities served by Northern Powergrid covering activities that are in support of the charity’s priorities. Community groups interested in finding out more and applying for funding up to £20,000 should visit www.northernpowergridfoundation.com