Subject: Big changes and new opportunities! 🌱

Big changes and new opportunities! 🌱

March is a month of change, and this year it is no different. As the clocks have changed and the weather starts to resemble spring, Carbon Co-op has also seen a lot of change. We have said goodbye to two respected members of Carbon Co-op, with Ben Aylott leaving for a position in cloud computing after 6 years working to develop Carbon Co-op and our energy systems work, and software developer Richard Lane leaving for Share Energy UK. We wish success in the future endeavours and thank them for everything they have given to the organisation. We are also welcoming Marlo and Sophie who are joining our retrofit team, and you can expect to hear more from them soon!

We have also been busy across our work areas, with a key event bringing together members of the Climate Change Committee with stakeholders from the retrofit community.

The PowerShaper Flex service is rolling out the next phase, co-ordinating with new service users to help implement grid flexibility on a domestic level. Stay tuned for more information about the service!

Climate Change Committee engagement event

A photo from the event with the Climate Change Comittee

At the beginning of March, Carbon Co-op and People Powered Retrofit hosted an engagement event for the Climate Change Committee, the government's climate oversight agency who were visiting Manchester as part of a UK tour.

Attended by Carbon Co-op members, PPR clients, local residents, contractors and others, the session was a chance for the committee including chair Lord Deben, to hear the real-world experience of people involved in retrofit and these experiences will feed into future policy recommendations. Thanks to all the members who attended, very sorry we couldn't accommodate more and look out for a blog on the session soon.

Ben Aylott leaving for new pastures

photo of ben in front of electricity meters

We’re sad to announce the departure of Ben Aylott, who is leaving the Carbon Co-op staff team to take up a position in cloud computing. We wish him all the very best in his new role. Since joining Carbon Co-op in 2016 Ben became a well respected and integral member of the organisation, and much of the progress the organisation has made in the past six years is down to him.

The Lockdown Riders: Oldham Energy Stories

In Episode 1 of our Oldham Energy Stories, we meet Ibrahim from Westwood, who shares his love of cycling and the benefits it gave him, his family, and his friends during the lockdown.

We hear his concerns around his own children cycling to school in areas of heavy traffic, and his hopes for improved cycle networks across Greater Manchester.

Watch the video

Carbon Co-op in the news...

BBC Inside Science: How can the UK get to net zero?

Jonathan Atkinson appears on Radio 4's 'Inside Science' to talk about retrofit supply chains and how we can scale up for net zero.

Listen now...

Citizens’ jury on city-region’s green energy future

Manchester World cover our citizens' jury on the Greater Manchester local energy market.

Read the article...

A woman signing up for a the Greater Manchester Local Energy Market Citizen's Jury on a Carbon Co-op stall

A child leaning out of a loft window looking at solar panels

In the smart home: domestic solar energy

Matt Fawcett explores domestic solar energy, what to look out for and how to make the most of your solar generation potential in our regular column with Ethical Consumer magazine.

Read the article...

What we are reading

A graph illustrating the merit order of the energy market

Why does the price of gas drive electricity prices, including renewables?

This blog gives a clear explanation of how the merit order effects electricity market pricing, as well as some ideas for reform.

Read the article...

In the community

A cross-section illustration of a Sunamp heat storage device

Sunamp and other storage devices

Members discuss their experience with heat storage devices such as the Sunamp, and their perspective on the benefits of such devices.

Read the conversation...

Reading suggestions - please help!

Do you have recommended readings, books, articles, reports or blogs about retrofit or local energy markets? This is your chance to share them, or maybe you just want to see what others have suggested!
Read the conversation...