TENANTS in Rose Hill are now able to get ‘clean energy’, thanks to a pioneering project.

Energy Resources for Integrated Communities, known as Project ERIC, was launched in the estate last March, with the aim of installing solar panels and batteries in homes and then linking them together in a renewable energy grid.

Each battery stores any excess energy generated, for example when householders are not at home on very sunny days.

Organisers have now finished connecting 77 social housing tenants who signed up to the scheme, with about 20 private homes plus Rose Hill Primary School and the new community centre left to be connected.

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Project leader Andy Edwards, of Bioregional, a company that promotes more sustainable living, said it was now 80 per cent complete, The Oxford Brookes graduate said: “We thought the biggest problem would be getting people to sign up but that has been a bit of a dream.

“Project ERIC has built on the momentum that has been built up by a lot of other organisations here in Rose Hill. I should give a big thank you to Oxford City Council who have been amazing in providing support.

“They took a bit of a punt with us which has enabled us to offer this to households which would have struggled to be a part of it.”

The £1.2m scheme was largely funded by the Government, along with contributions from energy storage company Moxia Technology, Oxford City Council and social housing company GreenSquare Group.

Rose Hill was chosen over the Isle of Wight as it was felt the estate was a “typical community” and would demonstrate how the project could work elsewhere.

Social housing tenants did not pay to take part due to the funding.

Mr Edwards said in the long run it was hoped it could be a new model for how the electricity grid would work across the UK.

The 30-year-old said: “If it is a bright sunny day there will be a surplus of energy generated. The batteries will store that energy rather than let it go away so people can use it in the evening.”

A long-term aim was to develop more advanced algorithms so batteries could predict when householders wanted to use energy.

He said: “It is about monitoring the data and developing the software so that it can manage the householder’s energy use better.

“The software within the battery will look at not just your use at that time but what you normally use at that time on that day of the week on average. So it will know whether it should be storing energy for tomorrow or for tonight because it will know you will be coming in then and using it.”