People generally like the idea of locally produced food. Could they develop a similar taste for heating and lighting their homes and businesses with locally generated solar power. It is a good question to which there may soon be an answer.
SusCha’s sister organisation, Southill Community Energy, has been awarded a £40,000 government grant to investigate the feasibility of selling electricity generated by Southill Solar, near Charlbury, directly to local residents.
This may be possible for the first time in the not-too-distant future under new energy market rules currently under discussion at national level.
Cheaper electricity
Under the new regime, households and businesses around here would be able to buy electricity from Southill Community Energy. However, they would also need a relationship with a traditional supplier who would organise billing and the supply of power at times when solar generated electricity was not available.
Billing would include payments to the SSE, the company that runs the regional power infrastructure, for use of its network to deliver the locally produced power to consumers.
Complex details
The grant from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero will help Southill Community Energy work out the complex details of how direct selling of locally produced electricity can be made to function. It will also be used to investigate the options for installing on-site battery capacity to store solar power generated during daylight for use later at times of peak demand in the evening.
Green energy generated by Southill Solar goes via an 11,000-volt cable to a nearby substation which supplies the power needs of Charlbury, Fawler, Stonesfield, Combe, Finstock, Leafield and Spelsbury (see the map of local grid connections above).  There is a logic to making these communities the catchment area for any future direct sales to consumers of power from the solar farm.
