Power Station: Community Energy Film Comes to Electric Palace
Local community benefit society Energise Sussex Coast is bringing the must-see documentary Power Station to the Electric Palace cinema in Hastings this month. The screening, which will be taking place at 7.30pm on Thursday 26 March, follows two artists in Walthamstow who set out to take their street off the grid, kickstarting a solar-powered energy revolution.
The film will be followed by a Q&A session about local community energy projects in Bexhill, Crowhurst, Battle and Hastings. Free and impartial home solar advice from Energise Sussex Coast will also be available before the screening, from 6.30pm.
Inspired by lockdown mutual aid initiatives, artist-activists Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn decided to turn their street into an energy-generating powerhouse – a prototype for a new way of living, with the hope of galvanising a wider push towards sustainable alternatives.
Directed by the duo, Power Station charts their turbulent journey, from pitching the idea to their neighbours and sleeping on the roof of their home, to raising finance and launching a bid for a Christmas number one single.
Reviewing the film for The Guardian, Phuong Lee described it as “a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when we simply talk to our neighbours … It is heartwarming to see different people, from diverse backgrounds but bound by shared economic struggles, come together to make green energy a reality. On this beautiful street, no one is a stranger.”
Community energy – where people help develop, own and benefit from local energy assets and services – is popular in the UK. Indeed, according to recent polling commissioned by Commonwealth, 62% of people would support the creation of a community-owned renewable energy project in their local area – compared to only 40% who would support a privately-owned project.
Community energy projects currently make up less than 0.5% of the UK’s electricity generating capacity. However, given the right support, it’s been estimated that community energy could grow up to twenty-fold over the next decade, powering 2.2 million homes and saving 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.
Founded in 2012, local community benefit cooperative Energise Sussex Coast (ESC) works to tackle the climate crisis and energy injustice through community-owned renewable power and energy-saving schemes. It runs a free Energy Advice service to help local residents bring down the cost of their electricity, gas and water bills: to find out more, call 01424 390 062.
Its sister project, Energise South, has raised community investment to finance and install solar arrays on eleven local community buildings, including Baird Primary School and St Leonards Academy. These projects are estimated to be saving local schools £82,000 a year in saved energy costs.
Current ESC projects include creating a 5MW community-owned biodiversity solar farm in Crowhurst – planning permission for which was granted last year – and exploring the possibility of creating a solar-powered community-microgrid in Bexhill, powered by panels on the roof of the Egerton Park Indoor Bowls Club.
Kate Meakin, director of Energise Sussex Coast said: “We hope that anyone interested in how we can create a better and fairer energy system will come along to be inspired by the film and hear more about the community energy projects locally”.
Tickets for Power Station are available from the Electric Palace website: electricpalacecinema.com The screening on 26 March is supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, with all ticket proceeds going to support the Electric Palace.
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