Community energy schemes: the role of public participation and engagement

Faced by global challenges brought on by climate-change and over-reliance on fossil fuels, more people are looking towards developing energy systems characterised by renewables. Community energy groups have been identified as key stakeholders who could play a strategic role in enabling the transition to a clean and affordable energy supply. Acting as a contact for local energy consumers they can help residents engage with energy matters by harnessing local natural resources to build social capital, creating revenue to address community needs and combating fuel poverty. As these groups are defined by the communities in which they exist, public participation and engagement is vital to their success. The extent of community involvement could include identifying needs, generating solutions, seeking funding and managing assets to enable positive socio-economic impacts. In this paper, the authors examine how a community energy group in Nottingham adopted a model of local energy generation and storage to improve their energy security and to reduce fuel poverty. Results indicate that the use of various engagement strategies provides opportunities to encourage active discussions, explain processes and gather feedback. The regular planning of these sessions helps to maintain momentum, enthusiasm and commitment and encourage wider participation as the project progresses

Tapping the potential for energy storage in community energy initiatives

Driven by environmental concerns resulting from global warming, interest in renewable energy has grown in recent times. Similarly, improved efficiency and reliability in energy technologies have played a significant role in facilitating their adaptation at various scales. Of these technologies, energy storage has been suggested to have potentially far-reaching benefits including: more effective utilisation of renewable sources, better integration into smart energy systems and the improvement of grid reliability. In a community energy setting, energy storage can be used to stow away energy generated during low demand periods. This energy can then be accessed by community members at a lower cost during periods when there is higher demand and when energy is more likely to be expensive to buy. In this paper, the authors review the potential benefits of integrating energy storage into community energy initiatives based on the experiences of a community energy company set up in the Meadows in Nottingham, UK. In addition, the barriers they experienced when trying to maximise on these benefits including inefficient government policy and regulations, high capital cost and a lack of replicable business models, are highlighted. The results from t this case study review indicate that the introduction of energy storage can facilitate the future-proofing of community energy infrastructure with increased community and grid efficiencies as well as improve community resilience to changes in energy provision, particularly with regard to finances and infrastructure

A TERRITORIALIDADE DO SAGRADO COMO ESTRATÉGIA DE RESISTÊNCIA CAMPONESA NA AMAZÔNIA BRASILEIRA

Este artigo, de pesquisa bibliográfica e trabalho de campo, parte da compreensão da territorialidade do sagrado em comunidades camponesas na Amazônia brasileira, como estratégia de resistência desta classe social. Salienta-se, que para além dos movimentos sociais, a resistência camponesa se assenta no território local, caracterizada por foças sociais que evidenciam politicas alimentares autônomas, controle nos processos produtivos, vínculos de sociabilidade comunitária, de parentesco e principalmente religiosos. A territorialidade do sagrado é originária da territorialidade religiosa, isto é, a constituição de espaços sagrados se dá a partir de uma orientação religiosa imposta por uma instituição religiosa, que reflete no afloramento de espaços de devoção, repletos de objetos sagrados, dentre outros

Análise das estratégias de conservação de Quelônios brasileiros

Esta monografia tem por objetivo analisar as estratégias de conservação de quelônios brasileiros com a finalidade de descobrir se os programas destinados para esse fim têm tido êxito em suas execuções. Primeiramente são descritas algumas características gerais dos quelônios, como reprodução, alimentação, diferenças entre as espécies e a biologia em geral, depois são tratadas as características dos quelônios brasileiros. As estratégias são analisadas com base nas atividades desempenhadas pelo corpo técnico dos projetos, atividades que foram descritas e depois comparadas com as atividades dos outros projetos, procurando diferenciar a metodologia de cada um, bem como seus principais pontos positivos e negativos, principais diferenças e particularidades. São analisados pontos como educação ambiental, pesquisas, fiscalização e recuperação de animais debilitados. Conclui-se que os projetos analisados, até o presente momento, têm conseguido atingir seus objetivos por meio das atividades desempenhadas pelos mesmos como poderá ser observado através dos resultados obtidos com o n

Ativismo LGBTI+ no Partido dos Trabalhadores: Entrevista com Julian Rodrigues

Cleyton Feitosa interviews Julian Rodrigues, LGBTI+ activist from the Workers' Party. Duration: 71 minutes. Date: March 30, 2021. Location: On-line through the Zoom Platform.Cleyton Feitosa entrevista Julian Rodrigues, ativista LGBTI+ do Partido dos Trabalhadores. Duração: 71 minutos. Data: 30 de março de 2021. Local: On-Line por meio da Plataforma Zoom

The case for localised energy management to support resilient cities

Localised energy generation, ownership and management provide a mechanism to address issues of affordability, energy security, infrastructure resilience and the need to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. There is potential for the growth of community energy schemes in the UK. However, small to medium-sized schemes find it hard to compete with large energy providers. Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) are created to manage the local production and distribution of energy. In Nottingham, the Meadows Ozone Energy Services (MOZES) is a community owned organisation that aims to reduce their carbon footprint, support experimentation and learning in relation to sustainable energy, support energy self sufficiency, help to provide access to affordable energy, and contribute to socio-economic development. In this paper, the authors described some of the benefits that an ESCO can bring to a community drawing on examples from MOZES. The benefits and challenges associated with the implementation of community energy schemes were examined and the results of a questionnaire administered to residents of the Meadows community are presented for the first time. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made on how the model developed by MOZES in Nottingham can benefit other communities and contribute to resilient cities for the wider development of distributed energy storage in the UK