Some residents of the Ogwen Valley in Gwynedd are cutting down on their energy bills by up to 25% through the use of green technology. Since 2016, people from Bethesda joined an energy club called Energy Local, which uses a hydro-power scheme.
While the increasing cost of energy bills is a huge concern for many, some residents of the Ogwen Valley are paying 8p per unit of electricity at certain times of day, rather than 34p a unit. Meanwhile, a separate scheme sells excess power back to the grid, which as a result funds grants for local charities and fitting solar panels in the area.
According to the BBC, around 140 homes in the area are part of the scheme along with the National Trust, which owns a hydro-electric turbine nearby. Although the houses are not directly plugged into the turbine and get their power from the National Grid like everyone else, the energy scheme members use is matched to the amount of power the turbine is generating.
Read more: UK nuclear body backs plans to develop a new small-scale nuclear project in Wales
Bills remain low as long as the residents don't use more power than the turbine produces, and they are charged just under 8p per kW/h in the night and then 16.5p per kW/h between 4PM and 8PM. On top of this, the energy prices are kept low due to the fact that the power is used locally and does not travel for miles like the National Grid.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Mary Gillie - one of the founders of the scheme, said that residents were "relieved" about the prices they were paying. She added: "People are quite relieved about the prices they're paying, that they have got a better deal.
"But Energy Local is also about using less power where you can - and using it in the evenings when demand is less, but the hydro-electric turbine is still generating. If you're not exporting a whole load of power at one point in the day and importing it at another time of the day, then everything becomes cheaper to run.
"We're trying to create a win-win situation which helps on a national scale, but also on a local scale as well." The Energy Local scheme started in Bethesda six years ago, but has other similar schemes in Brecon, Cardigan, Corwen, Crickhowell, Llandysul and Machynlleth.
Meanwhile, a separate hydro-electric turbine has been installed by a community company called Ynni Ogwen. The scheme sells its power to the National Grid, with the tens and thousands of money raised put back into the local area to help local veterans' organisation, a food bank and nearby sports clubs.
Money from Ynni Ogwen also pays for solar panels on community buildings, including the roof of Clwb Rygbi Bethesda, generating more renewable electricity. Chairman Gareth Cemlyn Jones told the BBC: "I use the phrase 'empowering people' as a bit of a play on words, but this really does do that.
"This is all about people in the community making use of something which is on their doorstep - the power of the water in the river. It's brought people together - the community built this, and the community own it. There is fantastic community spirit in this area, and that comes through in the way that volunteers will clean leaves and debris from the screens that protect the pipe down to the turbine."
READ NEXT:
- Senior Welsh Labour MP Christina Rees loses party whip
- Where exactly does our electricity in the UK come from, how does it get to our homes and why it might run out?
- National Grid planning for three-hour blackouts from November
- Plaid Cymru calls for income tax to be raised in Wales
- 'Liz Truss must be a sleeper agent for YesCymru - it's the only explanation'
