West Berkshire Council, GB

West Berkshire Council, GB recruits volunteers for Draughtbusters home energy improvement team

Council officials approved the team's creation in anticipation of higher energy bills in the upcoming winter. Volunteer Centre West Berkshire assists with recruiting handy volunteers for in-home energy evaluations, minor repairs, and insulation work. This recruitment effort also seeks administrative volunteers to handle requests, training, and coordination with service providers. Draughtbusters will evolve into an independent organization funded by donations and grants.

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West Berkshire Council, GB

United Kingdom

West Berkshire Council, GB integrates distributed energy management system into facility operations

Four council buildings were outfitted with solar panels as part of the national SMART Places Live Lab initiative. Each building feeds real-time performance data into the Cirrus Flex platform from Smarter Grid Solutions. Cirrus Flex optimizes energy usage across the facilities and analyzes potential areas of energy loss. Local officials are evaluating pilot data on carbon and cost savings for potential expansion to other council facilities.

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West Berkshire Council, GB

United Kingdom

West Berkshire Council, GB approves Climate Change Bond program to reach carbon neutrality goals

The council approved a £1 million bond to finance green energy projects throughout the area. Investors acquire Climate Change Bonds for £5 or more in exchange for direct community impacts and small dividends. The initial round of bonds was used for the Greenham Common solar project and an urban tree program. Council officials determined that the bonds provide better value than other loan mechanisms in its effort to reach carbon neutrality by 2030.

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West Berkshire Council, GB

United Kingdom