GOWER POWER - Key Persons
Ant is one of the founders of Gower Power Co-op.
He has an MBA from Cardiff University and a background in community development.
He has used this combination of skills to help small business owners, serving as vice-chair of the Swansea Rural Development Plan Partnership and working as a non-executive
Board member of Cwmpas (formerly Wales Co-op Centre). He has set up and developed numerous successful social enterprises, including Gower Power, Cae Tan CSA and Gower Regeneration Ltd (Wales's first community-owned solar farm), which won the REA's 2017 Renewable Energy Project Award for being "the most commendable sustainable electricity generation project undertaken by a community group in England and Wales".
Ben has over a decade of experience in community energy, serving as a founding
member and director of Carmarthenshire's Ynni Sir Gar project (delivering the county's first ever community-owned wind turbine) as well as Community Energy in Pembrokeshire. With extensive technical knowledge of climate change, energy efficiency and renewable energy at all scales, Ben has worked with a range of stakeholders - from community groups through to statutory bodies, local businesses, and multi-national developers. He is currently Co-Executive Director of Community Energy Wales.
Bright Renewables is the UK's first fully community-owned Asset Management company which has enabled it to develop a unique base of knowledge on the sector. They manage the UK's largest portfolio of community-owned renewable assets, with more than 83 MW of generation across 42 projects ranging from run-of-the-river hydro to residential rooftop and utility-scale ground mount solar PV (including Brynwhilach Solar Farm). Their scale and structure put them in a unique position at the forefront of the sector, empowering them to maximise value for their clients and in the process refine the blueprint for successful community energy groups across the UK.
Charlotte has a wide range of experience in policy analysis, development and delivery from a 20-year career in energy. She has established strong collaborative relationships with stakeholders in the public and energy sector across the UK. She has held a range of renewable electricity, energy efficiency, heat and fuel poverty policy roles in Welsh Government. Charlotte has also worked for the Energy Saving Trust, Association for Conservation of Energy, and is currently a Senior Strategy Manager at Ofgem. Charlotte holds a Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, London.
Chris's career has combined his love of the outdoors, commitment to outdoor learning and development, and skills in education, training, facilitation and project management. After working as Kilvey Community Woodland officer, a trainer and development worker at Dynamix and a Forest School Leader, Chris trained as a teacher and worked in primary and secondary education whilst serving as a Director of Forest School SNPT. Since 2018 Chris has worked as a Project Manager at Down to Earth where responsibilities include fundraising, training and accreditation, and management of health and well-being programmes. Chris brings a wealth of skills to the board including critical and creative thinking and a keen interest in maximising benefits for both the environment and communities.
Helen has a BSc in Environmental Science and extensive experience of developing and managing projects in community and rural regeneration, environmental sustainability and nature conservation. She worked in Swansea Council on projects such as ‘Get Into Gower', which addressed the barriers faced by people on low incomes in accessing and interacting with the countryside. Helen now works for Natural Resources Wales and continues to contribute to policy development and practical interventions recognising sustainability as an issue of social justice and health equality.
Jim has a lifelong passion for the environment and animal welfare, and a background in both teaching and volunteering, having worked for many years with the Scouts Association and, ongoing, with Killay Community Council. He is currently co-chair of Swansea and Gower Green Party and, exercising his interest in renewable energy, a director of Gower Regeneration Ltd. Jim's business, Killay Pet Shop, runs on 100% green electricity and operates a closed loop recycling system to drastically reduce plastic waste.
Mary's work has mostly focused on supporting people affected by low income. After numerous third sector roles, Mary delivered anti-poverty campaigns, development work and policymaking for Swansea Council, before serving a term as a local councillor with political roles combining her interests in poverty reduction and environmentalism. She works as Director of Fairer Future, providing training and consultancy specialising in socioeconomic inequality. Mary ensures the Community Benefit Funds we manage arising from renewable energy projects (locally and elsewhere) support relevant, worthwhile projects.
Rob was a plumbing and heating engineer before completing a Geography Degree
at Swansea University, volunteering with Swansea Council's Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development teams, and working in an environmental consultancy company. In 2016 he founded Limitless Energy, a renewable heating and electrical company that soon had £1M+ turnover and currently has eight employees, reducing dependence on fossil fuels by installing heat pumps, electric vehicle charging stations, solar PV and battery systems.
Cae Tan Community Supported Agriculture, based on Gower, is one of the flagship community projects that Gower Power supports. We helped set up Cae Tan in 2015 and it is now the largest CSA in Wales providing weekly organic vegetable boxes to over 130 local households. As well as providing a bountiful harvest each week, Cae Tan delivers educational programmes in schools and also therapeutic work onsite to disadvantaged groups. As well as providing strategic advice and business planning support, we've helped sponsor Cae Tan's education officer who is working in primary schools across Swansea.