Porty Community Energy - Local Energy, Local Action!
Porty Community Energy is on a mission to reduce the amount of carbon produced by the local community and by individuals in the Portobello area of Edinburgh. Dealing with the energy needed to keep people moving and the energy needed to heat homes, PCE champions the solutions to do this with joy and creativity. These fall into three focuses: Low-carbon transport, Low-carbon heating & solar generation and storage.
Through engagement, events, training sessions, knowledge sharing and ride-alongs, Porty Community Energy has a team of dozens of dedicated volunteers who work with hundreds of people each year in their local community. Founded in 2019, the organisation is led by Directors Brenda Park, a renewable energy expert and medical and scientific writer Ellen Grünewald.
Taking this community-led focus the group of local residents can engage with the community about local energy and broader climate concerns. This includes working towards bringing active travel, electric cargo bikes and better transport to the people of Portobello. PCE has gained a warm reputation in the area for their presence on the Portobello Promenade with its regular Bike Library and Active Travel Hub.
The group is currently working on getting a Solar Bonds project in the Portobello area off the ground. This would involve community owned solar power generation on community buildings, for community benefit.
Given the excessive amounts of heat that can be lost from buildings, especially the home, PCE wants to work with EdinBRIC to build engagement with the Portobello community for those with concerns about decarbonisation and those affected by the fuel poverty crisis. PCE hosted retrofit workshops with Edinburgh Tool Library (also a member of EdinBRIC) over the winter 2023-24 period and are keen to continue collaborating with similar groups, sharing resources, lessons and opportunities together for the benefit of community action.
Adding some extra fun into climate action, Porty Community Energy is even hosting a local music, arts and environment festival in June 2024 called Sea Rising, balancing a powerful theme with a welcoming atmosphere.
It can be overwhelming to think about making a difference in a climate emergency. Porty Community Energy shows much can be done together with ingenuity, green technology and aiming for the goal of a more sustainable community.
