Jess Cook: Power to the people - exploring the potential of community energy

Jess Cook (BSc Environmental Science) joins us to discuss her independent research project "Power to the People: exploring the potential of community energy".In this Student Symposium episode, we explore renewable community energy projects from the people's perspective and how they shape up as a feasible decarbonisation solution. We explore whether the challenges that communities face from policy and funding limitations outweigh the benefits successful projects find. we look at the people and places that get involved with projects like these and what makes a project more likely to succeed than others.The synergistic benefits these projects offer within sustainability are examined and the glimmer of hope they provide in these ever more extreme times is discussed. Sit down as we look at the future of community energy with the Government's release of the Local Power Plan and ask, is this a realistic solution to decarbonise our grid and reduce the cost of energy?Guest: Jess Cook, BSc Environmental ScienceHost: Prof Simon KempEditor: Jack DinhamThe Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2026 Student Takeover Season where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate Students.