Welcome to Talybont-on-Usk Energy’s blog.
This is the place for people to come to get the latest information on what we are up to. Whether you live in the community or are inspired by what we are doing or you just want to see what we are up to this will be the place to find out on a weekly basis.
Please also visit our website www.talybontenergy.co.uk
Alice
We’re holding a Green Transport Day at Henderson Hall, Talybont on November 7th, 10am until 1pm. We’re hoping to show a variety of greener transport options, including an ultra efficient diesel, a petrol hybrid, a car running on bio-diesel, perhaps one running on raw cooking oil and maybe even an electric car. Plus, of course, our electric bikes. We want to start discussion on ways in which we as a community can reduce our personal transport carbon footprint before deciding what to do for our headline project in 2010. Everyone welcome.
Talybont-on-Usk Energy is looking for somebody local to take on the role of Administration & Communication Worker. Please visit our website for more information – www.talybontenergy.co.uk
Talybont-on-Usk Energy is one of several community energy projects to feature in a recent report by the Centre for Sustainable Energy – “Best practice review of community action on climate
change”. Here is a link to the report: http://www.cse.org.uk/downloads/file/Best%20Practice%20Review%20with%20Case%20Studies_140509.pdf
The 2 Talybont Energy electric bikes have now done 1700 miles between them and roughly 800 of these have replaced miles which would have otherwise been driven by car. Around 90 people have now been on the bikes (at the various demo events) and 28 people have booked them out for the day and completed the research surveys.
The bikes were hosted by BBNP during National Bike week in June and were demo’d to some local businesses. Unfortunately, none of the businesses followed up this contact. Perhaps this is fortunate, as we now have no free weeks left for the bikes until October.
The trial has now changed flavour with other Green Valleys’ communities volunteering to host them. Following a demo at Llangynidr market, the bikes were hosted there for two weeks. This week Pip Woolf is using them for an art project in Llangynidr which involves visiting different homes in the area. They are then going to Cymdu (1 wk), Llanfihangel Crucorney (1 wk). Abergavenny (2 wks), Llangattock (2 wks), Hay (2 wks) and Monmouth (2 wks). We eventually get them back in Talybont on October 3rd! At Hay and Monmouth, they are being used at special Green Transport events in the town.
Peter and Alison, who have been running the trial, are so resenting having to return to using their car for frequent runs into Talybont and Brecon, that they have decided to purchase their own electric bikes. The enjoyment of hills without sweat along with the considerable carbon savings on short journeys have convinced them at least.
Talybont-on-Usk Energy’s AGM will be taking place next Tuesday (16th June) at 7.45pm in the local village hall.
On completion of official business, our focus this year is on more sustainable transport. John Lilly of Dragon Electric Vehicles, Cwmdu will give a short presentation on the current state of electric cars and their possibilities. He is bringing two demonstration cars to the meeting and will be happy to answer any questions about this form of alternative transport. Talybont Energy’s two electric trial bikes will also be available for people to try.
For those of you who were not listening to BBC Radio Wales yesterday morning at 7.30am here is a link to Country Focus featuring Talybont-on-Usk Energy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00kr8r8/Country_Focus_31_05_2009/
Local trial bookings have slowed down a bit. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had 3 new triallists plus two repeats (serious potential buyers). So, we have now had 22 triallists in total who have (between them) done 391 miles – 234 of these have been car replacement miles. It is enjoyable greeting the returning cyclists who are usually smiling from ear to ear and reluctant to return the bikes. The main complaint we get is about the heaviness of the bikes when getting on and off etc. We continue to get positive quotes on the post-trial survey (“you don’t groan at the hills on the way home from work”, “great way to exercise and promote green travel”). Most of the triallists are people who have bikes and regret they don’t use them more. Some of them are considering ways to get rid of a 2nd car. Some live up a steep hill only a couple of miles from shops or work and are frustrated that they get the car out for such a short run.
The B&R article (see attached) generated a number of phone calls – all of which came from way outside Brecon! We passed them on to OnBike in Presteigne. The B&R have asked to follow it up with an article (which they will write) in their free newspaper. They plan to come and take photos etc this week.
We demo’d the bikes at Crickhowell market on Saturday (inbetween torrential downpours). The turn out was disappointing (given posters and flyers in Cric etc) and the handful of people who came and chatted all seemed to live elsewhere (London, Basingstoke, Bristol, Exeter…) – we got the impression that Crickhowell is wealthy 2nd home country! People were intrigued and impressed though that a community hydro scheme would mount such a trial! Anyway, we did encounter two local women who were delightfully enthusiastic and both cycled both bikes round the block and loved the ease with which they made the hill up from the bridge. They have signed up for the Llangattock phase of the trial as did a guy who lives on a canal boat at Llangattock.
The bikes will be hosted in Llangattock for the first two weeks in June.
After that, the bikes will be at BBNP (c/o Ceri and Helen) for National Bike Week (15-19th June) and they are hoping to promote the trial to Brecon businesses during that week.
The bikes will be hosted then in Llangynidr for 3 weeks including a demo/promotional session at the Llangynidr Farmers Market on Sunday 28th June. We currently have no bookings from mid July but Abergavenny GV-ers think they have found a host for them for 2 weeks around then.
We shall see whether anything comes out of the Brecon business contacts in Bike Week before taking that agenda forward.
Meanwhile, the technophile in this household has calculated that our ToUE turbine could generate 16 million miles of e-biking in a year but, alas, only 250,000 electric car miles…. still a nice sound byte for when ToUE make it onto the Radio 4 Today programme. Peter is working on a tag line “Go to work on a waterfall”….
We’ve now had 17 triallists (9 men and 8 women) who (between them) have done 290 miles about 50% of which (150 miles) was replacing car journeys. If you add in our own use then car replacement miles are now topping 300.
Uses of the bikes by triallists include: 8 work commutes, 8 leisure trips, 5 shopping trips and 2 meetings. Nearly everyone says they “loved it” and 7 people have reported that they would seriously consider buying one based on their experience. One Talybont couple is borrowing them for a 2nd commute to Brecon next week as they are considering buying one and getting rid of their 2nd car. So far, the people who have expressed the strongest interest in actually buying tend to be those who have a 4-5 mile work commute – often involving an offputting hill.
The attached photo shows the most challenging ‘commute’ the bikes have tackled yet (leaving aside Mike’s epic trip)! And the Monark did fine. This guy, Rob, works in a barn up a remote 1:5 hill about 5 miles North of Abergavenny – ordinary cycling is grueling work but he really liked the fact that the electric bike made his trips up and down the hill doable. He felt less comfortable with the bike’s downhill performance (a bit unstable). A number of people have also complained about the weight of the bikes when getting on and off them or holding them whilst opening a gate.
We’ve had our first technical hitch – a chain which came off and proved tricky to replace on the Monark given that the manual doesn’t have any relevant diagrams! Still, the intrepid triallist managed with some email help from Peter.
Here are a couple post-trial reactions:-
“I thought they were a fab bike to use considering the hills in Wales. it felt like you could ride the bike for hours and not feel completely knackered”
“Fantastic fun. Very enjoyable and a real possibility to replace second car with an electric bike. I am totally sold on the idea and want one of my own.”
“Very positive – a 12-mile bike ride without breaking into a sweat is ideal for commuting purposes”
“Ideal for my current commute (4 miles) and also for leisure use for those less keen or able to tackle the hills in this area”
“I think the e bike would be very good for local trips (up to 10 miles) and I would most definitely think about swapping some of my car journeys to work and back”
People have different reactions to the 2 bikes – the Ezee (with throttle) is probably the slight favourite – particularly with women.
“I really enjoyed using the bikes and found the eZee best but quite hard to keep the throttle held all the time. The Monark didn’t seem to have quite as much kick as the other one but the controls were easier.”
“Very good fun. I think I prefer the model with a throttle. Going up hills was a dream. Without it I would have had to have done a fair bit of pushing”.
We have 6 more local individuals booked in over the next week or so. On Saturday 16th May, we will be demoing the bikes at Crickhowell market and the bikes will be hosted in Llangattock/Crickhowell for the first 2 weeks in June following that promotion. For National Bike Week (15-19th June), Ceri and Helen will have the bikes at BBNP and have all sorts of publicity and events planned which is fantastic. They are also going to visit a selection of Brecon businesses to demo the bikes and (hopefully) generate some interest in taking part. The bikes might visit Hay festival on May 28th (any news on that, Gren?). We plan to demo the bikes at Llangynidr market on Sunday 28th June and we have a volunteer to host them in Llangynidr for the first 2 weeks in July.
On Tuesday, one of our triallists cycled the bike to Llanfihangel Crucorney so it could be demo’d at a public meeting there. Peter and I were asked if we would demo the bikes to different Abergavenny environmental groups in Waitrose car park last night. We did that – 10 people showed up and had rides but, unfortunately, none of the Abergavenny based folks were able or interested to host the bikes there – they just wanted to try them for themselves! Anyway, they enjoyed themselves and may change their minds about hosting them for others to try. Two enthusiastic women from FoE Monmouth came along and they would like to host the bikes over their Green Transport weekend in September.
We and the bikes were interviewed by an OnBike related journalist last week and Rob Yorke (who trialled a bike this week) is hoping to get an article about his experiences in the B&R leading up to the National Bike week.
Talybont Energy and the SDF are getting good press from the trial. Here’s a quote from a recent email “Your mission to encourage their use is inspirational. Congratulations on this and the Talybont project.”
Alison & Peter
Talybont-on-Usk Energy is continuing to spread the word.
Last month saw us talking to the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors, Mid Wales branch. This included a tour of the turbine house and a presentation about the history of the Talybont-on-Usk hydro project.
March also saw the start of the 2009 Borderlines film festival, the biggest film festival in the Midlands. Talybont-on-Usk Energy took part in the festival’s climate change day. The day included a showing of the new film “The Age of Stupid” (www.ageofstupid.net) – I cannot recommend this film enough! The day also included a presentation by Talybont-on-Usk Energy highlighting that it is possible for communities to make a difference.
April started with Talybont-on-Usk Energy talking to a school group that was taking part in the Brecon Beacons National Park education programmes that looks at the sustainability of Talybont-on-Usk and the generation of hydro energy.
This week Talybont-on-Usk Energy was interviewed by Iolo ap Dafydd (Environment Correspondent for BBC Wales) for a feature for the BBC Radio Wales programme: Country Focus. We don’t know yet when the interview will be broadcast so look out for it. The interview will be forming part of a wider feature looking at The Green Valley project (www.thegreenvalleys.org) which is the only Welsh finalist in The Big Green Challenge (www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk) – the project has the opportunity to win £1 million. This money would be used to improve the sustainability of communities within the Brecon Beacons National Park with a particular focus on community owned hydro projects.
So one way or another people are hearing about us and, hopefully, being inspired.
By the way it is not too late to take part in our electric bike trial. We are pretty booked up for the next few weeks but the bikes have more availability later into May and the summer months. For more information see previous blogs below.
