About Low Carbon West Oxford

For over fifteen years, the West Oxford community has been leading the way in local climate action. Low Carbon West Oxford (LCWO) was established to help reduce our community’s CO₂ emissions by 80% by 2050. Today, we’re focused on supporting a fair and inclusive transition to net zero by 2040 — in line with Oxford City Council’s ambitious goal. 

At the heart of our work is a double carbon-cut model:

1. Cut 1: We generate renewable energy locally.
2. Cut 2: We reinvest the surplus income from this energy into further community-led carbon-cutting projects.
    

Our partner organisation, West Oxford Community Renewables (WOCoRe) — an Industrial and Provident Society — raises funds through a combination of government grants, community share offers, and prize money. These funds are used to develop renewable energy projects that suit our local landscape, including:

• Solar PV installations on schools, social housing, and community buildings. 
• A micro-hydro scheme at Osney Lock Hydro on the Thames.
• A small wind turbine at Hogacre Common Eco Park.
   

The energy generated is sold to the host buildings, with any surplus sold back to the grid. The income supports the ongoing operation of the installations, and surplus profits are donated to LCWO, a registered charity. This enables us to fund a range of community projects focused on cutting emissions, including:

• Our Street by Street programme.
• Tree planting and biodiversity initiatives.
• Low-carbon transport and waste reduction project.
• Sustainable food programmes. 

This offers:

• A double reduction in carbon emissions.
• A self-sustaining income stream for community climate projects.
• Long-term social and economic benefits for local people.  

In 2009, our project received more than £900,000 through a government grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (via the Low Carbon Communities Challenge) and a national climate competition (The Big Green Challenge, run by NESTA).  This funding, alongside share capital raised by WOCoRe, has been used to:

• Install solar panels on key community buildings.
• Build the Osney Lock Hydro project (see pictures inset).
• Install a wind turbine at Hogacre Common Eco Park. 

Together, this work forms a proven, scalable model for local climate action — led by communities, for communities.To learn more, click to see our Low Carbon Living Report here.