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£610k of EU funding for the community energy project, Gower Power Solar Storage has been announced by Wales’ incoming First Minister Mark Drakeford at an event in Cardiff celebrating the impact of EU funds in Wales.

The market leading scheme will supply electricity to up to 300 local consumers using smart meters. Situated at Wales’ first community owned solar farm in Swansea, this new storage scheme aims to create a replicable local community energy model, leading to a further roll out of larger scale schemes.

If scaled up to its full commercial potential, it could be replicated in dozens of communities across the UK.

Speaking at an event in Cardiff to mark the progress and achievements of EU funds in Wales, Mark Drakeford, set to be Wales’ next First Minister said:

“We are committed to creating a sustainable low carbon energy economy in Wales. Our aim is to generate 70% of our energy from renewable sources by 2030. The renewable energy sector is playing a significant role in helping Wales achieve this target. I’m so pleased to see EU funds being invested in innovative projects such as these which have the potential to be replicated in other areas of Wales.” Ant Flanagan from Gower Power, added, “The holy grail of community energy is enabling local energy consumers to benefit directly from renewable energy generation and storage assets, not only by sharing profits but also by reductions to their bills. The EU funding will enable us to carry out a market leading pilot well ahead of the majority of the renewable energy industry which will save on national transmission costs and policy charges, and we’ll plough those savings back into local people’s pockets and also deliver wider community benefit programmes. We are immensely pleased to have such great partners on board and to be able to offer this initial project, before the national roll out, to the people of Swansea.”