‘Act local, think global’ has long been a guiding principle of the environmental movement. This thinking is at the heart of the Green Fund.
We set up the Green Fund in 2001 to help promote the development and installation of renewable energy technology in the community. For example, a new sustainable energy power plant, like a wind farm capable of supplying a city, takes years to plan and build. But why not help people build renewable energy on a much smaller scale in their own communities right now?
Since its creation, the Fund has awarded grants of around £4.6 million, helping 260 projects generate energy from wind, sun, water and other sustainable sources.
St Mary’s Primary School in West Sussex was one beneficiary. It received a grant from the Green Fund to build a wind turbine. Town Mill in Lyme Regis is using its water mill to produce electricity for the first time since the Second World War.
The funds for these projects are raised through EDF Energy customers who sign up to our Green Tariff. Each customer contributes an amount to green projects, which we then match pound for pound.