Oldham Council is the best council in the country for supporting community energy projects.

That’s the verdict of the judges at the Community Energy Awards as the town saw off competition from four other councils to win their Local Authority Award.

It follows Oldham Council’s support for Oldham Community Power which has installed a 220W energy generation scheme which now helps to power a number of schools and a community centre.

The scheme, which Oldham Council supported with a loan as well as officer time and advice, will save five schools and the community centre at least £5,000 on their energy bills in the first year of the project alone and much more in the future.

Cllr Abdul Jabbar, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council, said: “This is really an award for the fantastic local residents who’ve participated in Oldham Community Power and helped it to get off the ground.

“It’s a terrific scheme which we were very happy to support and advise on.

“We were also delighted the judges acknowledged the other work we’re doing across Europe too.

“We’re very keen supporters of community energy so, if residents are interested in exploring the possibility of community energy projects in their area, I would urge them to get in touch.”

Oldham Council is committed to supporting community energy and helping residents and businesses to reduce their bills.

Warm Homes Oldham, run in partnership with Oldham CCG, has helped lift more than 4,000 households out of fuel poverty by assisting with the installation of new insulation and heating measures.

The Council’s collective energy switching schemes, meanwhile, saw 8,500 people sign up to change suppliers. Those who switched saved an average of £171 a year – a collective saving of £175,000.

The local authority is also leading on a Europe-wide initiative entitled COALESCCE – a five year project which will see public bodies from across Europe work together to share expertise to help community energy projects get off the ground.

Oldham Council is also supporting the Big Clean Switch, a Greater Manchester wide energy project designed to help people collectively switch to more environmentally friendly suppliers as well as saving money.

For more information on the Big Clean Switch visit https://bigcleanswitch.org/gm/

For more information on Warm Homes Oldham, visit https://www.oldham.gov.uk/warm_homes_oldham