When CEP was awarded £1.5m by the National Lottery Community Fund last summer to help build capacity in the community energy sector, MaidEnergy was one of the first to be invited. The society, which was founded in 2010 to enable community ownership of locally generated renewable energy and cut carbon emissions in and around Maidenhead, has now recruited three part-time staff who are funded for three years.
When seeking new staff and volunteers, MaidEnergy is determined to recruit people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and approaches.They are being supported in recruitment and training by CEP. “We want more than half of newcomers to be those who have experienced barriers to getting involved in community energy” says Nicola Davidson, volunteer director at MaidEnergy. “We advertised using Charity Jobs, which anonymised applicant names so that shortlisting was based entirely on competence and experience shown. We are working towards being a Disability Confident employer.”
MaidEnergy has also received two grants from the Community Energy Fund, which means they can plan larger, more diverse projects and engage the wider community. This includes developing plans for a local hydro-electric project, various rooftop-solar initiatives and participating in a study for a city-wide heating scheme for Reading.
“MaidEnergy is now so much more stable” says Nicola “We are developing better relationships with the project sites, since we have the staff capacity to meet the contractors regularly. This means they know us and understand we are not a commercial provider, but an innovative one that provides local benefit and outreach where needed.”
“It is vital that as the community energy sector expands, professional staff and volunteers can see how their skills and characteristics fit together – and understand how it is a launch- pad for green careers. Furthermore, we are supporting two of our staff to participate in a community energy apprenticeship, which means that after 24 months they have a Level 4 qualification – and we gain a £6,000 contribution to each of their salary costs.”