Smart Grid Co-op
Agata Nguyen, Janice (Yee Teng) Tai, Maciej Kanarkowski, Natalie Sitt, Tonderai Maboreke
Smart Grid Coop sees the intersection between domestic space and urban infrastructure as a key site of radical shift towards environmental and socio-economic justice. The proposition model aims to assist in the development of cooperative housing communities focussed around shared energy infrastructure, as part of the wider energy decentralisation movement.
Smart Grid Coop would facilitate communities coming together to create their own energy & housing cooperative. This could be either an existing community planning to retrofit, or a group of people seeking to incorporate renewable energy into their new build scheme. Current government policy does not go far enough in addressing the role of the built environment on the environmental crisis. With 40% of carbon emissions coming from the sector, there is a need to radically rethink the way we use and produce our buildings. Boris Johnson’s “Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution”- announced on the 18th of November 2020, does not go far enough in addressing this problem. With greater emphasis currently on decarbonising transport/energy networks and little on the built environment, the government needs to recognise that innovative design can play a fundamental role in significantly reducing a building’s environmental footprint. What initiatives would better facilitate the construction industry reducing its impact on the environment?
The Smart Grid Coop outlines the ‘plan of work’ stages in a loop form rather than a linear form as published by the RIBA in encouraging its Chartered practices to act early and incorporate clean energy in all stages of design work.
Current contractual framework does not favour innovative technologies nor the integration of alternative energy solutions, it also lacks the engagement of end-users. Our development model would challenge the conventional elements and the existing power market, to enable and foster a more engaging carbon negative development and shared local energy marketplace.
Smart Grid Coop would work closely with the local authority and the end-users, helping them to develop the best possible energy solution for their site and needs.
