Green Isle of Wight CIC has been awarded £450,000 from the Ofgem Energy Redress Scheme to deliver an ambitious new project: Vectis Community Energy’s Virtual Island Battery Ecosystem.
Vectis Community Energy will install between 100 and 200 smart batteries in homes, schools, and small businesses across the Isle of Wight. These batteries will store electricity when it is cheaper or cleaner and release it at peak times, helping households cut their bills, lowering carbon emissions, and reducing pressure on the national grid.
Participating households are expected to save £400–£450 per year on their energy bills, with even greater benefits for those combining batteries with solar power. Collectively, the project could cut 400–700 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.
Unlike commercial schemes run by large energy companies, Vectis Community Energy will be community-owned and community-led. Islanders will be able to invest through a community share offer, keeping decision-making and financial returns local. Many households – particularly those in vulnerable situations – will be offered batteries free or at a reduced cost, ensuring fairness and inclusivity.
The 2-year project will be delivered by Green Isle of Wight CIC in partnership with the Centre for Energy Equality, supported by a wide programme of community engagement events, school sessions, and household assessments.
Graham Ayling, Senior Project Manager for the Energy Redress Scheme at Energy Saving Trust, says:
“We’re proud to be supporting this initiative through the Energy Redress Scheme and to see the positive impact it will have on households across the Isle of Wight. The project highlights the importance of involving everyone to ensure a just transition to net zero.”
Lisa Beaney, Managing Director at Green Isle of Wight CIC, has said:
“This funding is a game-changer for the Isle of Wight. Vectis Energy will help local families save money and take control of their energy future. Most importantly, it shows that the transition to clean energy can be fair, inclusive, and community owned.”
The project begins in November 2025, with public engagement events rolling out across the Isle of Wight in the coming months. To register your interest and take part in the project, visit https://bit.ly/SVPP-IOW.
Islanders will be able to invest through a community share offer, keeping decision-making and financial returns local. Many households – particularly those in vulnerable situations – will be offered batteries free or at a reduced cost, ensuring fairness and inclusivity.
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not really investable then is it, as returns on that investment will be derisory, if you are giving batteries for free
How long will the batteries last? It’s ok installing them, but how often will they need replacing? Where are they made? How far do they have to travel to reach the island? If they are made in and transported from China, how much CO2 will that generate?
The great green myth. I am assuming they are lithium batteries, so what about the people (usually in poor countries) who live near the lithium mines, no ones wants to mention the polluted water and ground around them do they. $450,000 wasted, just give that cash to poor islanders anyways to make sure they can keep warm this winter, not on some airy fairy idea, that will only benefit those in the know.
If the world really cared about the climate
why last week did approximately 50,000
people from over 190 countries go to
Brazil to attend COP 30!!
All the damage done to the climate travelling to
Brazil
Lol
Some people would believe it if they were told to stick
their heads in an oven to get an instant sun tan.
Some people will never learn, so gullible
This is only viable, of course, if the household has access to and has signed up for, a variable time-of-day tariff, and is in a position to take advantage of it. Which in turn needs reliable SMART metering (still a pipe-dream) and good 4G connectivity.
If this is grant-funded, why does it need local investment?
Reading this load of tripe, I am reminded of a post in the Echo 4 years ago by “Lady Dunstanding”:
Firstly, millions of us voted against European agencies having an interest in our business. Secondly, Councillor Watling is fighting a fingers in pies battle on many fronts (and has openly suggested that Ventnorians who do not agree with the Town Council should have an animal bolt gun applied to their heads!), and, thirdly, former beach master, local celebrity and the only recipient of the Freedom of Ventnor, Jim Blake always said the haven was built the wrong way round. It was, but clever people disagreed with hundreds of years of local records of tides and weather conditions”
This “Green Isle of Wight CIC” is another “Eco Island” scam, where a “CONsultancy” was formed to “act” for a CIC.It didn’t work then and it won’t work now.