Ouse Valley Energy Services Company (Ovesco)
Ovesco is a community group set-up to support communities in East Sussex transition away from using fossil fuels to adopting clean, renewable energy.
They work in partnership schools, businesses and community groups to develop community-owned renewable energy in the Lewes district and across East Sussex to reduce our local carbon footprint and lower our dependence on imported energy.
They have already completed nine projects to install PV panels, generating just over 300,000 kWh of electricity each year.
They raise the money to fund these projects through community share offers so that local people can have a stake in what we do. Ovesco has around 410 investors from the Lewes district and its surroundings who have invested over £600,000 and receive interest payments annually.
Ovesco contribute surplus funds, and apply for grants, to promote and support energy efficiency in the area, as a community benefit and as a means to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
These include advice to households on insulation, a feasibility study for district heating, mentoring of those setting up similar community enterprises, fact-finding visits to existing installations.