Zero Carbon Rugeley aimed to design a Smart Local Energy System for the town of Rugeley, Staffordshire, the site of a former coal power station. The decommissioning of the power station was used as a catalyst to approach place based decarbonisation, understanding how a town of 25,000 inhabitants can transition to net zero. Focusing upon the key areas of buildings, mobility, and energy, the project focused on understanding how these areas can be electrified and decarbonised. ZCR employed a community centric design approach to engaging with the Rugeley population to ensure that the decarbonisation plans for Rugeley valued local knowledge and perceptions on strategies to achieving net zero.
Image of the Rugeley Energy Performance Walk, capturing walkers underneath a disused railway bridge that was used to supply Rugeley Power Station with coal and alongside the Trent and Mersey Canal
Image credit: University of Keele
What are the key innovative aspects of the project and the story behind it?
Zero Carbon Rugeley utilised the redevelopment of the former coal-fired power station site in Rugeley as a catalyst to create a blueprint for a smart local energy system (SLES).
Crucially, the project used an innovative approach to engaging with the Rugeley community named ‘community centric design’. This approach employed creative and participatory approaches that facilitated the co-design of the SLES. This meant that the blueprint for the SLES was informed by the wants and needs of local residents and businesses.
EQUANS hosted website of all project outputs: https://www.equans.co.uk/zero-carbon-rugeley-progress-and-outputs
UKRI report covering community engagement, using ZCR as a case study: https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/perspectives/prospering-together-engaging-communities-in-the-energy-revolution/
