Towards community wind energy resilience: specifications, assessment, and enhancements

The objective of this proposal is to investigate connection specifications for supporting the assessment and enhancement of community wind energy projects to promote resilient energy communities. The project will collaborate with Bristol Energy Network, Community Power Solutions Ltd, and Energy Local to evaluate energy requirements, network operating constraints, wind turbine locations, and performance under extreme operating conditions.

Currently, national grid constraints limit the scale of new generation that can be connected to the grid to 1 MW. However, the government needs to resolve this issue to achieve net-zero emission targets. Community energy schemes, local infrastructure and services, and renewable energy projects should be given priority. University of Bristol specialists will support Community Power Solutions & Energy Local to develop a framework for Bristol Energy Network's Sustainable Innovative Finance Foundations For Wind Turbines project which is developing a pipeline of new onshore wind projects across the West of England Combined Authority.

The ultimate goal is to facilitate the development, monitoring, and maintenance of resilient community wind energy projects. This will result in local energy sovereignty, reduced local emissions, and economic benefits such as profits, jobs, and educational opportunities for the local community.