Tabitha Whiting

We’re two years into Cosy Homes Oxfordshire, and we’ve learnt a lot about launching a whole house retrofit service For the past two years the Low Carbon Hub has been the lead project partner on Cosy Homes Oxfordshire, developing a one-stop whole house retrofit service to offer homeowners a simple way to reduce the carbon […]

Oxford City Council are offering free solar panels to a local community project Oxford City Council have 42 solar panels (350 watts) and an inverter which they are now no longer able to use. They’re hoping to find a new home for them and so are looking for a local community project which could make […]

Cosy Homes Oxfordshire‘s whole house retrofit service launched almost two years ago, with the Low Carbon Hub as lead project partner. During that time, we’ve made many learnings about working in the home retrofit sector, but our biggest barrier has always been finding enough trusted and high-quality contractors to deliver home retrofit projects in Oxfordshire […]

Demonstrating the power of locally-owned community energy projects to accelerate the UK’s low-carbon transition Westmill Solar Co-operative, the UK’s first community-owned solar farm, has opened and is accepting applications for funding up to £5,000 from its new Community Grants Scheme. In these difficult times, the climate emergency is still looming and the need for this […]

Join us for webinars on energy efficiency for businesses This autumn Energy Solutions Oxfordshire is holding a series of fortnightly online webinars exploring topics relating to the importance of energy efficiency for businesses – how it can help organisations save money on their energy bills, improve comfort for staff and customers, and do their bit […]

Join us for webinars on home retrofit and energy efficiency This autumn Cosy Homes Oxfordshire held a series of fortnightly online webinars exploring topics relating to home retrofit and energy efficiency, giving homeowners a chance to gain a better understanding of the importance of home retrofit. The series is now complete, but all of the […]

We’ve been running a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. Running large volumes of renewable generation creates new challenges for the energy system. The sun and wind […]

This month the UK government’s economic and finance ministry announced that a £2 billion fund providing grants for home energy improvements work would be set up by September 2020, offering homeowners vouchers to undertake retrofit work. There have been limited details of the scheme released, so it’s difficult to know exactly how it will work at this point. […]

Join us to discuss the future of energy, in our series of webinars The world may be focused on the immediate threat of coronavirus, but we feel strongly that it’s as important as ever for us to continue with our work to tackle the climate crisis and create a zero carbon energy system that’s good […]

We’ve been running a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire) is developing and testing new energy services and business models from a […]

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. A lot of attention is paid to the technology in energy systems, especially the newer ‘smart’ technology. But […]

Each year every Community Member of the Low Carbon Hub is eligible to apply for a large grant of up to £5000, to support carbon-cutting activities, and we are usually able to award 2-3 grants per year. This year one of our grant recipients is GreenTEA (Transition Eynsham Area). They applied for a Low Carbon […]

Cosy Homes Oxfordshire is a one-stop home retrofit service aiming to improve energy efficiency in our homes to reduce carbon emissions. The programme is now in its second year, with the service fully up and running, so we’re now looking to make improvements to the service and our processes, as well as to develop key […]

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. For our fourth webinar, Dr Scot Wheeler of Oxford University gave an overview of the smart-grid trials which have already […]

How to keep the momentum going on climate change and ensure a green recovery from COVID-19: advice and ideas from low carbon community groups across the UK From the very start of lockdown restrictions in the UK we’ve been impressed and inspired by our Low Carbon Hub CIC Community Groups, who have been adapting to the […]

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. For our third webinar, Melanie Bryce gave an overview of the first year of Project Local Energy Oxfordshire […]

And we’re so grateful for your support We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that yesterday evening (9 June 2020) we met our £1.5 million target for new investment in our Community Energy Fund. A huge thank you to those of you who have invested and put your money to work tackling climate change! This does mean […]

Join us for a Community Coffee Morning on Tuesday 16 June at 11am Date: Tuesday 16 June 2020Time: 11am-12pm We’re holding an online Community Coffee Morning at 11am on Tuesday 16 June for low carbon community groups across the UK – and we’d love to see you there. This event forms part of Community Energy […]

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. We held our second webinar on Tuesday 2 June, titled: Energy system transition – a better local solution. […]

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. We held our first webinar on Tuesday 26 May, titled: Investing in the Low Carbon Hub’s Community Energy […]

Communities in lockdown: how Oxfordshire’s low carbon community groups have been adapting to lockdown and continuing their carbon-cutting activities From the very start of lockdown restrictions in the UK we’ve been impressed and inspired by our Low Carbon Hub CIC Community Groups, who have been adapting to the situation in a myriad of ways and […]

Our Low Carbon Hub Board helps to direct our future direction and strategy, as well as ensuring that we’re always best serving the interest of our shareholders – both our Low Carbon Hub IPS Investor Members and our Low Carbon Hub CIC Community Group Members. As part of the Board we have a Communities Director, […]

As you may know, the Low Carbon Hub is one of the project partners for Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire) – one of the most ambitious, wide-ranging, innovative and holistic smart network trials ever conducted in the UK. The project is exploring how the UK’s energy system needs to change so that we can achieve […]

On Tuesday 28 April 2020 the UK’s electricity grid hit a new record for the longest coal-free period since pre-industrial times (previously been held at 18 days), with coal power plants offline from midnight on Friday 10 April. This coal-free period has been due to maximised levels of solar energy generation, due to high levels […]

Saving money for the future is one of the best gifts you can give to a child, often helping towards major life goals such as putting down a deposit for a house. If you invest a small amount of money now, over a number of years that could become a substantial pot of money. For […]

Active Oxfordshire and Cyclox are partnering up to provide free of charge, refurbished bikes for Oxford’s NHS and social care heroes to ensure they can get to work if they aren’t able (or don’t feel comfortable) to use public transport during COVID-19 lockdown. They are aiming to raise enough funds to provide 100 bikes to […]

We hope all our partners, Members, and supporters are currently safe and well in these unprecedented times. When social distancing restrictions went into place in the UK, our immediate priority was to ensure that our staff team were able to continue to work effectively from the safety of their own homes. We also needed to […]

Previously, we explored why investing your money in a positive way is a great action to take if you want to do something about climate change. But with so many elements making up climate change (food production, fossil fuel extraction, biodiversity loss, media and communication etc), how do you decide where to make an investment? […]

Your feedback is vital in making sure we’re doing as much as we can to meet our mission of creating an energy system that’s good for the planet, and for people. We always want to be improving our work, and how we communicate it with the people who support us, just like you. That’s why […]

We often get questions from people who want to get involved with our work on tackling climate change in Oxfordshire. Unfortunately, we aren’t currently set up to take on volunteers at the Low Carbon Hub, so we’re limited in the ways you can be directly involved in our work. However, there are lots of other […]

Investor stories: why invest in the Low Carbon Hub’s Community Energy Fund? We already have over 1,000 Investor Members – people who have chosen to invest their spare money in the Low Carbon Hub and support us in accelerating the transition to a zero carbon energy system. But why have these Members invested in us? […]

Hook Norton Community Land Trust is developing a group of affordable and sustainable homes in the village of Hook Norton. The Trust was officially set up in July 2019 and since then they’ve shared information through hosting a webpage on the website of Hook Norton Low Carbon. But, they now have a wealth of information […]

The Low Carbon Hub Community Energy Fund is the opportunity for investors to put your money to work delivering local projects which tackle climate change. Each round of the Community Energy Fund supports a different range of projects, so we wanted to outline what the £1.5 million we’re aiming to raise in this round will […]

With the growing threat of COVID-19, we’d already made the decision to close our office at the Wood Centre for Innovation. However, we are continuing to work hard to fulfil our mission of a zero carbon energy system which is good for people and for the planet – we’re just doing it from home for […]

In Oxford, our buildings are responsible for the largest proportion of our annual carbon emissions – as outlined in the Oxford’s Citizen’s Assembly on Climate Change in September 2019. The buildings sector should adopt improved building standards, widespread retrofitting, and more domestic and non-domestic energy needs being met by sustainable sources. Oxford City Council’s report […]

Climate change is a global crisis that needs local solutions. We invite you to invest in the Community Energy Fund and become part of the solution. Barbara HammondLow Carbon Hub CEO Our Community Energy Fund has now re-opened for new investment. With your help we can make an energy system that works for all of […]

We’re all trying to do our bit to tackle the climate crisis, with our time, our choices, and our money. When it comes to how we use our money, we commonly think of how our spending influences climate change, taking actions such as swapping to a renewable energy provider, choosing sustainably sourced fish, or opting […]

Note: this post is now closed. The Low Carbon Hub has a vacancy for a Finance Manager to join our expanding team. The Finance Manager will be responsible for overseeing the smooth running of the finance function, ensuring the systems and processes are robust and efficient, as well as being agile and adaptable to cope […]

Note: this post is now closed. The Low Carbon Hub have a vacancy for a Energy Services Company (ESCO) Business Development Manager. The ESCO is a new company being set up by the Low Carbon Hub, which will increase the take up of energy efficiency measures by SME businesses in Oxfordshire. The Business Development Manager […]

The Low Carbon Hub Community Energy Champions Guide Councils across the country, including Oxford City Council, have now that we’re in a state of climate emergency. It’s time to act. We all have our part to play when it comes to mitigating the effects of climate change. Here at the Low Carbon Hub we’re primarily […]

We’re very excited to announce that Project LEO has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Network Awards 2020, within the category of ‘Partnership Initiative of the Year’. The Network Awards celebrate individuals and organisations that have demonstrated exceptional performance in the energy industry, and are shaping the energy system of tomorrow. Winners are announced […]

We want to hear your thoughts on ground mount solar in Oxfordshire We are facing a climate emergency, which demands that we transition to zero carbon as soon as possible. Energy plays a huge part in this. How we achieve this is still under debate – but it’s clear that we must: reduce energy demand […]

In January 2019 the Oxford City Council officially declared a climate emergency in Oxford. In April they announced that Oxford would hold the UK’s first citizens assembly, to discuss how we should address the climate crisis within Oxford. This citizens assembly was held over two weekends at the Said Business School, the first in September 2019 […]

As 2019 comes to a close, we wanted to reflect on our Hub highlights of the year – it’s been a big one! Community Energy Fund 2019 We re-opened our Community Energy Fund for 2019, welcoming over 200 new investors and raising a huge £734,900, which is now already supporting community energy – increasing our portfolio […]

In February 2019 we announced that Low Carbon Hub were part of a consortium (alongside RetrofitWorksand National Energy Foundation) which had won a bid with the Department for Business, Energy, and Industry Strategy (BEIS) to develop a home retrofit scheme in Oxfordshire. This bid became Cosy Homes Oxfordshire –a home retrofit service aiming to help […]

Do you have a background in the building industry? If so, would you like to train and become a Retrofit Coordinator? Cosy Homes Oxfordshire is a partnership project being delivered by Low Carbon Hub, RetrofitWorks and the National Energy Foundation to help homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their homes. It’s a scheme which is new […]

If we are to meet the 2050 targets of the Climate Change Act, then all housing in the UK must have zero carbon emissions from space and water heating, and space cooling. Rick HartwigBuilt Environment Lead at IET (Institute for Engineering and Technology​) Home energy consumption accounts for around 30% of total energy used in […]

In November 2019 we installed an extension to our existing solar project on the roof of UTC Aerospace Systems CTG in Banbury, Oxfordshire. The background This solar roof array was already our largest rooftop solar install, and thought to be the UK’s largest community-owned rooftop solar array. When first installed, there were 2590 solar pv […]

Cosy Homes Oxfordshire, a home retrofit service, has recently launched and we are seeking to register new building contractors (builders, architects, energy assessors, surveyors, and more) and Retrofit Coordinators to undertake energy efficiency improvement work across Oxfordshire. If you work within the construction industry or building trades, or know someone who does, then encourage them […]

We are really excited to announce the launch of Project LEO or ‘Local Energy Oxfordshire’ – a £40m three-year collaborative project that will change the energy system as we know it. The project has been awarded £13.8m from the UK Government Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, managed by Innovate UK, and will be supported by £26m […]