Solar Powered

Acommunity centre in Birmingham has benefited from an energy-saving upgradescheme aimed at transforming their facilities by reducing their fuelconsumption, lowering their carbon emissions and slashing their utility bills. The Fox Hollies Forum in Acocks Greenhas seen upgrades including the installation of over 50 solar PV panels, a20kWh hybrid inverter and a system to monitor energy usage to help identify howto make further savings in the future.

Thework was carried out by ​Birmingham based consultancy firm, the Acivico Group,with over £14,000 worth of funding through their Social Value Fund as part ofthe government’s Local Authority Delivery (LAD3) scheme. Aformal handover of the new retrofitted facilities at the community centre tookplace on Wednesday 5th June withattendees including Cllr Roger Harmer, as well as representatives from acrossthe Acivico Group, Birmingham City Council and Dodd Group.

Marina Robertson, Managing Director atAcivico Group, said: "Understanding the importance of energyefficiency should become a primary focus for the UK as we strive to meet ournet zero targets, and at the Acivico Group, we believe this starts with acommunity approach and empowering local people to act.

"Thevarious sustainable installations at the Fox Hollies Forum, which have beenfunded through our successful Lad3 project, showcase how passionate aboutinspiring change while also supporting communities along the way."

AcivicoGroup’s work on the LAD3 project, which saw them awarded The Retrofit SocialValue Award at the Retrofit Academy Awards CIC 2024, focused on retrofittingnearly 700 properties across Birmingham and involved making buildingimprovements to increase energy efficiency performance to help reduce fuelconsumption and costs, lower carbon emissions and create more comfortable andhealthier living environments for residents.

Daniel Camp, Head of Retrofit &Building Services Division at Dodd Group, said:

"The Fox Hollies centre is a valuablecommunity asset for the people in Acocks Green and the surrounding area andDodd Group are more than happy to have contributed towards the retrofitting ofthe building to create a more sustainable way of using energy. We are dedicatedto fostering sustainable communities and have established a Social Value Fundspecifically to support projects like this one"

"The recent success of LAD3 in Birmingham shows the level of output that can beachieved with community engagement, from supporting customers at the inceptionstage right through to completion and indeed giving them a voice on lessonslearned and changes to be considered for future projects is priceless."