If I were Keir Starmer, wanting to launch my mission to achieve clean energy by 2030, I’d be standing beside this wind turbine by the Bristol Channel today. I wouldn't be on Teesside talking about £22bn for carbon capture, and not (just) because I’m anti the tech. Here’s why…
This is England’s largest wind turbine. It is the ONLY one built in 2023, because of the policies of the previous government. It generates enough energy to power 3,000 homes.
But more importantly, it was commissioned and is owned by Ambition Lawrence Weston - a community organisation in a neighbourhood residents used to describe as “a bit 💩”. Now the wind turbine is triggering local pride that is worth far more even than the £100k a year it will bring into local causes, and a kind of community energy that goes way beyond its 4.2 megawatts.
If Starmer and co had launched their mission here, their impact in celebrating this would have been enormous. They would have encouraged the model to spread to communities across the country - inspiring councils and companies to get involved (like OVO Thrive Renewables Bristol City Council did here) as they did so.
They would have positioned the clean power mission as something we citizens can all be part of.
I’m thinking as I write of Mick Cornett, the “million pound mayor” of Oklahoma City, who transformed the health of that city. Diagnosed as obese himself, in one of America’s fattest cities, he didn’t announce a big investment - he set himself and his fellow citizens a challenge, to lose a million pounds in weight together. What followed were weight loss groups, food business initiatives, even a popular campaign for a new sales tax to create funds for healthy infrastructure...
My worry is that our government sees its much-heralded missions as something to deliver FOR people, not WITH us.
In doing so, they seek scale, big numbers and big power, not the potential for spread, and the opportunity to build civic energy, not just energy infrastructure. They ignore the opportunity to spread, not just scale.
What Mick Cornett shows us is that’s not just a missed opportunity for Britain as a community, at a time when such opportunities arguably must be taken.
It’s also ignoring the best way to deliver.
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Agree and want to do something?
Support the campaign for a Local Electricity Bill (HT Hannah Griffin)
https://lnkd.in/ePPq6SmN
See if there's a Community Energy organisation near you (there are HUNDREDS)
https://lnkd.in/ev_y4aQM
Want to read more about the projects mentioned? Here’s…
The brilliant Anna Patton on the wind turbine:
https://lnkd.in/erbHn5sr
Mick Cornett’s TED talk:
https://lnkd.in/ezTDNM5E
Thanks Servane Mouazan ICF PCC