Harmony Energy Income Trust allocates community funds to twenty-two charities and community initiatives

The three community funds are allocated to initiatives located within a 5-mile radius of the HEIT-owned and Harmony Energy developed battery energy storage systems (BESS) – Little Raith, Bumpers and Pillswood.

Allocations are based on the positive impact each initiative is expected to have on the local community and/or environment. From supporting local musicians, replacing diesel vans with electric vehicles, and educating and developing opportunities for younger generations, the funds provide an important opportunity to help communities thrive during these challenging times.

Harmony Energy’s Head of Sustainability, Lucie Peralta Agass, commented on the latest allocations: “The community funds are an important way in which HEIT supports communities located near its sites. We are grateful for all the applications we receive, and it is a privilege to be able to help these worthwhile initiatives.”

River Thame Conservation Trust, a charity that works on the ground with communities across Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire to improve, enhance and restore the River Thame and its tributaries, said: “We work closely with volunteers from the Risborough Environment Group to protect the town’s rare and fragile chalk streams through water quality monitoring and education programmes. The funding from the HEIT Bumpers Community Fund will enable us to dedicate more resources to raising public awareness of their importance and to equipping local volunteers as well-rounded citizen scientists.”

On receiving the Pillswood grant, The Peel Project, said: “We support the underserved ethnic minority communities in Hull, many of whom are first-generation immigrants facing language barriers and other challenges associated with life in the UK. The HEIT Pillswood Community Fund is a game changer for us, providing the necessary funding to enhance our Household Support Programme offering on energy-saving. With this funding, we have distributed over 1,000 energy-saving light bulbs to families in need and translated our bespoke materials into different languages to reach more people. ”

The Parent Council of Denend Primary School commented: “The support from the HEIT Little Raith Community Fund will enable us to transform our concrete playground into a more inspirational and well-being-focused hub for the students. In addition to the new cycle route, buddy benches, artworks and planters, we are also planning to install a sensory wall that will benefit the neurodiverse students.”

Committed to operating each asset responsibly and promoting positive environmental and social change in local communities, HEIT’s BESS assets contribute to the UK’s net zero transition through enabling the integration of renewable power into the electricity grid and displacing fossil fuel-based power generation.

Each of HEIT’s operational sites features a dedicated community fund aimed at supporting initiatives that positively impact people and/or enhance the natural environment. HEIT’s contribution amounts to £100 per MW stored at each of our sites annually from the start of commercial operations.

To find out more about the charities we are supporting, please visit:

Bumpers Community Fund:

• River Thame Conservation Trust: Funds will support its education programmes which helps restore and protect local chalk streams such as the Risborough chalk stream.

• Princes Risborough Primary School Association: Funding coach travel for class of 8–9-year-olds for history and nature residential trip, helping to ensure all students benefit from the trip’s social and emotional growth opportunities.

• Risborough Youth Club Trips and Adventures: Funds helping to provide accessible services to young people, including a weekly youth club with free food and activities, and subsidised trips. The club prioritises inclusivity, sometimes fully subsidising costs for some families to ensure equal opportunities for all young people.

• Thame Chamber Choir Local Choir Concert: Funds will help bring world-class early English music to the local community for the first time through collaboration with professional musicians, covering high concert costs.

• Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity – New Electric Van: Funds help with replacing a diesel van with an electric one to align with community values of reducing pollution and championing sustainability. Funds also contribute to raising vital funds to continue supporting the local Hospice.

• Life Skills Education Charity – Whole School Social Skills Early Intervention: Funds contribute to the early-years prevention education programme for four schools, offering flexible and interactive interventions covering topics such as dangers at home and in public spaces, friendship, peer pressure, diversity, and online safety. They will also help provide training and support for teachers for effective delivery of the programmes.

• Kingsey Village Fete: Funds are helping to improve the village’s capabilities to hold community benefit events, particularly the traditional annual fete, such as enhancing capacity, upgrading equipment and amenities, and fostering inclusivity.

Pillswood Community Fund:

• The Peel Project CIC TPP Home Energy Saving Project: Funds will help empower Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in Hull to make informed choices about energy efficiency, cost-saving, and sustainability.

• Humber All Nations Alliance Outdoor Development: Funding will help transform a neglected piece of wasteland into a vibrant community space, encouraging volunteering, gardening, and mental health support activities focused on supporting BAME communities in Hull and enhancing biodiversity.

• KIDS Understanding Me Project: Funds support vulnerable young people with Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs through effective Draw and Talk and LEGO® Therapy interventions.

• Families for Individual Needs and Dignity (FIND): Funds going towards laptops for disabled adults with complex needs, to help address social and mental health challenges faced by many users, allowing them to access technology in a safe and supportive environment.

• Marfleet PCC – Building the Vision: Funds go towards a redevelopment plan to remove asbestos, install solar panels, repair old wooden floors and create further storage and meeting spaces. The project includes constructing a new wing for a café-style community space, improving accessibility, and executing a carbon-minimisation strategy for long-term sustainability.

• Cottingham Community Gardening Group: Funds helping to build a permanent wooden gazebo in the community garden for year-round protection and activities, doubling as a welcoming space for visitors to rest, socialise, and foster community connections.

• Friends of Garrowby Orchard – My Space Derringham: Funds going towards art workshops using creativity to help young people and families understand nature and enhance their local environment, creating empowerment and sense of ownership over how public spaces are used. Workshops also raise awareness of the importance of urban greenspaces for nature and human wellbeing.

• North Hull Community Rainbow Gardens: Funds will help to repair and improve the Rainbow Community Garden, fixing the leaky roof, introducing new fruit trees to enhance biodiversity and attract wildlife, and increasing seating capacity under a new pergola, which serves as a safe/inclusive space for volunteers.

Little Raith Community Fund:

• Denend Primary School Parent Council: Funds supported with playground improvements, transforming the school playground into a dynamic hub for promoting learning, community engagement, and environmental stewardship.

• The Cottage Family Centre Christmas Appeal: Funds go towards a Christmas appeal to provide essential support and basic necessities during the holiday season to families and children facing poverty and various challenges, including meals, utilities assistance, toys, and clothing.

• Cardenden Community Council: Funds go to a joint venture with the Community Council, Development Forum, and Environment Group to provide flower baskets to enhance the local environment, involving and benefiting the whole community.

• Knights Templar Goodwill Charity of Scotland Care Packs: Funds will help the charity continue providing essential Care Packs to people in need in the community, containing items vital for individuals living in poverty, such as toiletries, water and warm clothing. By ensuring access to basic necessities, the organisation plays a crucial role in supporting vulnerable individuals.

• Lochgelly Band: Expanding the music opportunities across the community, nurturing the next generation of musicians and ensuring its continued presence in the community. Funding helps launch two new groups: a youth/development band offering free brass instrument tuition and a percussion ensemble for experienced percussionists.

• St. Patrick’s RC Primary School Parent Council: Funding will help subsidise an educational school trip for pupils, ensuring equal opportunities for all students regardless of financial constraints.

• Lochgelly Children’s Gala: Funding going towards a community children’s gala – a fun day out for families, with special consideration for children from all backgrounds, ensuring no child misses out.