Working towards a sustainable future by reducing carbon emissions and empowering the community
Tywyn Baptist Church is actively working towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. The church’s vision includes both reducing its carbon footprint and fostering a sense of ownership among church members and user groups. With the help of Egin, the church has taken significant steps, including an Energy Audit and installing solar panels, while also addressing the building’s energy efficiency.
Tywyn Baptist Church serves the community in Tywyn by providing a space for independent groups to gather regularly. Recognising the significance of climate change, the church committed to a long-term goal of making its building carbon neutral by 2030. They also hope to increase a sense of ownership and involvement among their congregation and the groups that use the church facilities.
The church reached out to Egin back in 2023 to seek support and guidance for their carbon-neutral project, as well as to ensure that their sustainability efforts were informed by expert advice. Their Egin facilitator, Anne Marie, played a crucial role in outlining their goals and connecting them with relevant experts. She helped the church envision concrete steps toward sustainability, setting them on a practical path to achieve their goals.
Anne Marie connected the church with Peter Draper, an expert energy assessor from Egin’s partner organisation Severn Wye Energy Agency, who conducted an Energy Audit of the building.
“The Energy Audit confirmed some things that we were already considering but threw other ideas into the mix as well. Although some people found it tough reading, having Peter Draper’s voice of experience & qualification behind it has certainly added weight to our cause. The report gives us a lot of good starting points – the plan now is to find local specialists to then take us on a ‘deeper dive’ into each aspect in turn!” said Andrew Howard from the church back in November ’23.
Following the audit, the church was keen to install a solar panel array as one of the first significant steps toward producing renewable energy. Catching up with the group again in September 2024, they provided the following update:
“While we’ve faced some setbacks, including difficulty finding traders, we’re pushing forward with determination!
The exciting news? This week, work is finally beginning and we have had the battery unit installed last week and we should be installing solar panels on the church roof later this month!
This marks a big step in our journey towards reducing our carbon footprint and embracing renewable energy.
Additionally, we’re planning important work on the building itself. We’ll be replacing the exterior render to improve insulation, helping the church retain heat more effectively and reduce dampness. This upgrade will not only make the building more comfortable but also lower our energy usage in the long run.”
Tywyn Baptist Church are very happy to have received the Egin Grant, which will go towards the costs of the church’s journey to Net Zero; it will go towards installing a Battery Storage System that will link to the wider work of installing a new Solar PV Panel System on the building.
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