Energy Assembly

 I was going to wait until after Christmas to post this, but tickets are going fast, and space at the Swan is limited.

Last year, there was a citizens' assembly at the Swan on the theme of Food Resilience.  Lots of good ideas were generated, and the organisers have spent the last 10 months working with Welsh governmental and non-governmental agencies to get support and funding.  So it may have looked as if nothing much was happening, but there was a lot going on behind the scenes to set things up.  In the course of this, they've joined 35 organisations working on the Climate Issue in Wales, on Food, Energy and Well-Being, which are the three most important areas they want to concentrate on in Hay.

There is now funding in place to employ a Project Co-ordinator, who will provide professional support.

One of the visible results of last January's meeting is the Tuesday evening food market at Hay Castle.  They also want to support local growers and farmers, and grow the market for local produce.

So now it's time to launch the second "pillar" of the initiative - the Energy Assembly.  The idea behind this is that Hay can generate at least some of its own energy for local consumption.  The aim is for Hay to become self-sufficient in clean energy, and the Assembly is a means of getting all the interested parties in one place to come to a consensus about how to achieve this.

The Energy pillar is a vital part of the plans for the future.  If Hay decides to go for its own Community Energy company, within five to seven years, there should be enough money to create a Wealth Fund from the profits.  So energy will be cheaper than the big companies, and there will also be money to fund locally produced food and other initiatives.

The meeting will be at the Swan Hotel on Saturday 18th January, between 2pm and 5pm.  Space is limited, so the event is ticketed, but the tickets are free.

There will be a third meeting, in May for the third pillar of the initiative, on Mental Well-Being.