Lighting up rural life in North Norfolk – with cost reductions!
The Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm, operated by Equinor, established its Community Fund in 2010. Two of its objectives include assisting community sustainability and contributing to climate change reduction, and its recent grant awards will help five North Norfolk community organisations to future proof their roles in rural life.
Playing football under new LED lighting at North Walsham Town FC
(Image courtesy of North Walsham Town FC)
)
In North Norfolk’s small and often isolated villages, village halls, scout huts and sports pavilions are community lifelines. Hosting everything from toddler groups to warm spaces, their survival depends on keeping running costs low. By installing solar panels, battery storage, heat pumps and LED lighting, these venues are not only cutting emissions, they are securing their future.
Grants to Barney and Fulmodeston Playing Field Association, Corpusty and Saxthorpe Village Hall and Hanworth with Gunton Memorial Hall will support the installation of renewable energy systems including solar panels and battery storage. The Scout Hut used by 1st Mundesley (Air) Scout Group and other community groups in Mundesley is also being supported in installing a new air source heat pump.
Also, in North Walsham, over 500 players and officials are set to benefit from a grant which has enabled its football club to convert all the lighting around the football pitch areas to LED lights. The installation of these 14 LED lamps is projected to reduce annual carbon emissions by the equivalent of over 11,400 kg of CO2, producing a predicted cost saving of around £5,000 per annum. hanking the Sheringham Shoal Community Fund for its support, Paul Grothier, Chairperson at North Walsham Town FC, said:
“The new floodlights represent far more than just an upgrade to our facilities – they’re a symbol of progress, teamwork and a belief in the future of our club.”
Commenting on these recent awards, Sophie Skipp, Equinor’s Norfolk Stakeholder Manager, said:
“Not only do these Sheringham Shoal Community Fund grants assist these organisations in lowering their emissions, they make an important contribution to keeping these community facilities fit for the future.”
The Sheringham Shoal Community Fund, which is administered by the Norfolk Community Foundation (www.norfolkfoundation.com) has awarded grants of over £1.36 million since its establishment in 2010. The Community Fund currently receives a donation of £150,000 per annum from the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm to support community projects.
About Equinor in Norfolk
Equinor is a long-term partner for Norfolk and has been an active member of the community for over a decade through the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms it operates off the Norfolk coast.
The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, Masdar and China Resources Consortium, whilst Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, a subsidiary of Equitix Offshore 3 Limited (co-owned by funds managed by Equitix and The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG)) and Macquarie Asset Management (via Macquarie GIG Renewable Energy Fund 1).
On behalf of its partners, Equinor is maturing the proposed Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Extension projects. Following unitisation of the two, the Extensions project will double the capacity of the existing Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms, providing renewable energy to power an additional 785,000 UK homes and making an important contribution to the UK’s decarbonisation goals.
Currently, the combined output of Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms is sufficient to power around 710,000 UK homes, and the proposed extensions will increase that to nearly 1.5 million UK households.
Both wind farms have established community funds which in total have awarded over £1.65 million to projects in Norfolk. The funds were set up to provide grants to Norfolk community groups, including schools and charities, seeking financial assistance for projects or initiatives that meet key criteria and focus on renewable energy, marine environment and safety, sustainability, or education in these areas. During 2020, the funds provided grant funding to the Norfolk Community Foundation’s COVID-19 funding initiatives, and during 2021 grant funding has been made available to support Norfolk’s ‘every child on-line’ initiative.
Issue date: 17-12-25
For media enquiries, please contact:
Alice Baxter
UK Media Relations Manager, Equinor
E-mail: abax@equinor.com
+44 7557973941
For consultation or community enquiries, please contact:
Nigel Tompkins, the Projects’ Community Liaison Officer based in Norfolk,
E-mail: nigel@ni4b.co.uk