D&G Climate Hub: Exploring Future Energy

Just days after the news broke about a further rise in the energy price cap from January 1st, the D&G Climate Hub team held a wide-ranging energy conference and networker at Crichton Central in Dumfries. The breadth of knowledge being shared by the speakers attracted a good audience as well as the attention of BBC Radio’s early morning news bulletins for interviews with D&G Climate Officer Steven Clark and Jennifer Challinor, Head of R&D at The Crichton Trust.

Jennifer shared insights about Crichton Trust’s hi-tech assisted plan to transition all the heat-leaking heritage buildings on their campus to Net Zero, and the trust’s ideas for a community energy system. Dr Tony Cowling from Draughtbusters in Reading provided universally accessible hacks that anyone can perform to make their houses more energy efficient, and shared the latest street-scale retro-fitting methods that deliver compound energy efficiencies at the lower cost usually associated with projects beyond the scale of the single household. Eco‘s Group Opportunity Strategist Gary Robertson wowed the audience with his Annan-based company’s EcoGoZero efforts using pioneering loop technology to produce green hydrogen and graphene from agricultural methane, also explaining how super-insulating building panels containing recycled glass can be used to build passive houses in just 4 days. The fourth speaker was Rowan Aitchison from the Argyll & Bute Climate Action Network, who presented a valuable and reflective reference point for D&G residents by sharing community efforts in Argyll & Bute to achieve shared ownership in the renewable (and very lucrative) onshore wind-power.

Attendees at Future Energy came from a wide range of backgrounds across the public, private and third sectors with many travelling from much further afield to participate in this landmark event for Dumfries & Galloway. Beau, a guest who travelled from Edinburgh to attend, said, “I came to the Future Energy event because of my interest in how the world is evolving socially, economically and for business. The presenters gave great insight into some of the leading solutions to carbon footprints, energy conservation and usage, community ownership of renewable energy and heat networks. The event showed me, and I’m sure the other attendees there too, what innovation actually looks like and the forms it can take in the future. This was a privilege because all too often innovation happens behind closed doors in a world very separate to our own, whereas this event brought it into an open room in a relaxed, friendly and diverse environment.”

TS Eliot asked, ‘Where is the knowledge we have lost in information. Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?’  The speakers at Future Energy certainly delivered some invaluable wisdom for this era of energy flux and transition. The event was the final big networker of 2024 organised by the D&G Climate Hub, which is one of the national network of community climate action hubs supported by the Scottish Government’s Let’s Do Net Zero Campaign. Having launched just over a year ago, the D&G Climate Hub works right across the local authority area supporting and facilitating community-led action on climate change through providing seed funding, facilitation and learning resources. Climate Hub Officers are part of the GSA Biosphere staff and the GSAB Partnership has been awarded a second round of funding to continue delivering this valuable work at least until 2026.

For the latest news on all the current projects and upcoming events hosted by the D&G Climate Hub and its local partners, follow the team on Facebook and Instagram. To get in touch with one of the Hub team please email info@gsabiosphere.org.uk; if you tell us where you are based we will put you in touch with the officer covering your area.