Community Renewable Case Studies

Octagon Cybercafé, New Addington
The REAL project team worked with the London Borough of Croydon to install a 4m2 solar hot water (SHW) system on the Octagon Cybercafé in New Addington.

The Octagon Cybercafé provides discounted Internet Access to the residents of New Addington as well as training sessions in Information Technology. Once a disused building prone to graffiti and vandalism, the Cafe is now a vibrant, bustling social hub that is used by the local community and especially young families and people from a disadvantaged background.

The SHW system provides hot water for the Café, thereby helping to conserve resources and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, which cause climate change.

The Café has proven an excellent platform for the dissemination of sustainable energy messages. Countless vistitors have benefitted from the installation of subsidised and discounted energy efficiency measures in their homes, resulting in fuel bill savings and a warmer, healthier environment.

The REAL project team continues to promote the benefits of sustainable energy to those who visit the Café through displays, presentations and workshops.

YHA Rotherhithe
With support from the REAL project team, Rotherhithe Youth Hostel became the first hostel in London to be fitted with solar panels, asserting its place as a leading light for renewable energy in the capital.

YHA Rotherhithe’s 1.8kWp grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system will generate electricity from daylight for use in the Hostel, with any surplus being sold to the National Grid. The 12m2 solar hot water (SHW) system will provide hot water to the Hostel’s showers and taps.

REAL and the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) are committed to involving local community groups and visitors in the project. To this end, the REAL project team has worked with the YHA to produce a colourful display for the Hostel foyer, and community groups are invited to the Hostel to learn more about sustainable energy, where trained staff members are at hand to answer any questions. With over 78,000 guest nights a year and a stream of visiting community groups, the hostel is proving instrumental in promoting the benefits of sustainable energy.

Keen to broadcast the benefits of this green development as widely as possible, the REAL project team and the YHA have worked with local, London-wide and national media to publicise their success story.

YHA St Pancras
The second hostel in London to be fitted with solar panels, YHA St Pancras stands as proof that renewable energy is ideal in an urban environment. With support from the REAL project team, the Hostel now has a 1.8kWp grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system mounted on its roof.

The system will generate electricity from daylight for use in the Hostel, with any surplus being sold to the National Grid. It is estimated that the use of PV panels to generate electricity will result in 688kg of CO2 emission savings each year.

Part of the Youth Hostel Association’s (YHA) commitment is to help all, especially young people of limited means, to a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside and thus promote their health, rest and education. To this end, the YHA and the REAL project team are developing a colourful display for the foyer, explaining solar power and the benefits of sustainable energy to all visitors.


To find out more or to discuss becoming involved in REAL, email Carly McKay at CEN.