RYDE AND SANDOWN TOWN COUNCILS AWARDED GRANTS FROM SSEN COMMUNITY FUND

Ryde Town Council and Sandown Town Council have been awarded grants from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution’s Powering Communities to Net Zero (PCNZ) fund.

A total of 39 communities across central southern England have been awarded grants.

With awards ranging from £1,000 to over £38,000, the recipients of this first PCNZ funding round are made up of non-profit making organisations, community groups and charities, and will each receive a share of an overall total of £516,858.

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Ryde Town Council have been awarded £10,355 to purchase flood prevention measures to increase resilience and recovery from storm damage, whilst Sandown Town Council has been awarded £15,000 to purchase a back-up power generator and storage unit to strengthen the local resilience hub.

The money will enable them to increase community resilience during prolonged power interruptions caused by storms, aid their ability to cope in periods of severe weather, and support increased uptake of new low-carbon technologies by non-profit organisations.

Successful applicants set out their cases for funding in 2024 and met the fund’s specific criteria of community-led physical and environmental resilience, and Low Carbon Technology (LCT) – such as solar panels, battery storage and generators. Of the 39 central southern England projects awarded funding, 13 are specific to LCT, 22 to Resilience and 4 are a combination of both.

Eliane Algaard, SSEN’s Director of Customer Operations said:

“I’d like to congratulate all of the successful recipients of this first round of our Powering Communities to Net Zero fund.

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“Their hard work in pulling together the applications that have resulted in funding for their communities can’t be underestimated and it was clear from their applications that they fully understood the best way this funding could be used to benefit residents for years to come.”

Eliane continued:

“I look forward to seeing their hard work and projects come to life in the coming months and feel proud that SSEN has – in this small way – been able to help these communities to meet their resilience and net zero goals.”

SSEN’s PCNZ fund will run from 2024 until Spring 2028. During this time, it will seek to award over £3m across SSEN’s central southern England and north of Scotland distribution areas. The full list of central southern England recipients and details of their awards for the 2024 PCNZ fund can be viewed in the attached PDF.

The next round of funding and call for applications will be announced later this Spring, with further information on the fund available at Powering Communities to Net Zero fund – SSEN.