Shrewsbury's Marches Energy Agency (MEA) set up a technical arm to its operation two years ago called Project Carbon. Over this time, the team have audited and reduced energy use in many of Shropshire's businesses and communities, as well as across the West Midlands.

The Project Carbon team has been rewarded for its commitment to climate change mitigation by being accepted into the European Commission's Sustainable Energy Europe Partnership as an official partner. This Partnership is one of the main instruments within the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign - "A European campaign to raise awareness and change the landscape of energy".

It is designed to involve and support institutions and organisations, decision-makers and sustainable energy stakeholders across the European Union. The Campaign supports and promotes actions in the following five main campaigning areas: sustainable energy communities; market transformation; promotional, communication and educational actions; demonstration and dissemination projects; and cooperation programmes.

This success was announced on 7^th November 2008. As a partner, Project Carbon will continue to raise awareness of key issues and demonstrating to others, throughout the EU Member States, how barriers have been overcome and problems solved. This transfer of know-how can convince and assist local populations and organisations when taking the first steps towards sustainable energy use.

Project Carbon is the first project in Shropshire and only second in the West Midlands to join the Partnership.

Project Carbon (http://www.projectcarbon.org/) provides a technical advice service on sustainable energy use, helping businesses, communities and households to understand their energy use and find ways of reducing energy consumption and hence carbon emissions. It achieves this through a combination of energy audits, renewable energy feasibility studies, and the provision of expert impartial advice. Under-pinning this advice are the extensive skills of team members in a wide range of sustainability issues including renewable energy technologies, biomass energy, energy efficiency, building heat loss and energy use, transport and behavioural change. Project Carbon operates a local carbon offsetting scheme to support financially the installation of measures in community facilities in the West Midlands. 

Sustainable Energy Europe 2005 - 2008 (http://www.sustenergy.org/)          

A European Campaign to raise awareness and change the landscape of energy

An initiative of the European Commission, Directorate General for Energy and Transport

For further information, please contact:

Jeremy Thorp, at Marches Energy Agency, on 01743 277105 or email: Jeremy.thorp@mea.org.uk