Invest in the power of your community
Our Vision is that local communities along the Grand Union canal in Hertfordshire enjoy a clean and resilient energy system that benefits all.
We develop, support and promote renewable energy projects for local communities from Watford to Tring, and build householder resilience by helping them reduce their bills and energy use.
Our idea
Grand Union Community Energy (GUCE) is a community benefit society, established to improve local community resilience in the face of increasing energy costs and climate change - enabling the local residents to do something real and lasting about climate change.
Supportive Local Authority Awards announced by Community Energy England
Congratulations to Three Rivers District Council for their Highly Commended award on Monday 17th November at the Community Energy England awards ceremony. Following a hugely successful 2 year Innovate UK project in partnership with GUCE, TRDC has been an essential supporter in our work and in helping our team grow, all for the benefit of our local communities. You can read more about their case study and awards here
Looking back
GUCE evolved as a project of Transition In Kings in 2012 with the launch of a £70,000 share offer to finance solar panels on the roofs of a local school, which we raised in 8 weeks.
Looking forward
The need to expand renewable energy is more urgent now than ever. As we undergo the biggest energy transition in a hundred years, we want to enable this to take place in a way that creates positive local impacts.
To that end, we are undertaking a feasibility study about potential to heat homes from the canal at Tooveys Mill, and are starting a Transition Streets project to grow our communities and save some money and the natural world at the same time.
Our community
GUCE wants to enable members of our community to contribute to the fight against climate change.
Using either our know-how or our community fund, we've been proud to have supported multiple projects across southwest Herts to improve local community resilience by encouraging learning about CO2 and growing the use of renewable energy.
The opportunities now available to us are unprecedented. At this momentous moment in history, we hope that there are some of you who believe YOU CAN PLAY A ROLE TOO in taking ideas forward.
GUTSI
The Grand Union Transition and Sustainability Initiative (GUTSI) was formed in January 2021 by a group of transition-minded individuals, (including two GUCE directors), with a view to pooling the expertise within the community on sustainability and providing support to local authorities as they plan the climate transition. GUTSI is a project of GUCE.