The places taking control of their energy supply

ISSUE 518, FEBRUARY 2014

*SPECIAL FOCUS ON LOCAL ENERGY*

IN FOCUS: THE COUNCILS DRIVING LOCAL ENERGY PRODUCTION
As fuel prices rocket and climate change becomes a reality, many local areas are taking steps towards energy self-sufficiency. Local councils are hoping to reclaim the glory days of the 1870s, when the likes of Joseph Chamberlain, mayor of Birmingham, revived his local economy through the municipalisation of local energy and water.

WADEBRIDGE: RE-LOCALISING ITS ENERGY TO REBUILD ITS ECONOMY
Wadebridge, a small town in Cornwall, is going ‘back to the future’, localising its energy supply and, in doing so, re-building its local economyr?

PROFILE: Q & A WITH DAWN AUSTWICK, CEO OF THE BIG LOTTERY FUND
Dawn Austwick joined the Big Lottery Fund as its chief executive in October last year. She talks to New Start about the future of the voluntary sector, big data and inverting the funding model.

HOW CITIES ARE FINANCING THEIR OWN ENERGY EFFICIENCY
New financial institutions and instruments created by cities such as New York, Melbourne and Berlin have made it easy for large building owners to retrofit their properties by financing projects without impacting owners’ bottom lines.

COMMENT: WE NEED A BROAD DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY ENERGY
Broad community ownership of renewable energy in particular could go some way to transforming the distribution of wealth in the UK since some of the poorest areas have some of the best renewable energy resources.