Greater Manchester stands on the brink of an energy system transformation, with new business model opportunities, citizen and worker engagement channels, and innovative forms of governance emerging.
We propose Greater Manchester Energy Futures a bold and ambitious, municipal enterprise with the ability to act as convener of new partnerships and initiator of energy and infrastructure projects. Such a company has the potential to radically re-configure the regional energy system for the benefit of citizens, customers, workers and the wider environment, in a way that generates resources for re-investment in services and infrastructure.
Here we collect a series of potential ventures for GM Energy Futures, each prospectus imagines the company at a different stage of its development in the years ahead, allowing the reader to track it progressively extend the scope and scale of its operations as new opportunities emerge and capacity and confidence grows.
Whilst these project ideas are purely speculation, all have a basis in present day technologies and pre-figurative initiatives running elsewhere today, all can be replicated in Greater Manchester in this unique enterprise – see the accompanying notes for details.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
These documents are the product of work carried out by a multidisciplinary research team from the People’s Republic of Energy, a project initiated by Carbon Co-op and Energy Democracy Greater Manchester.
The publication coincides with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s Green Summit in March 2018, and seeks to contribute to the debates and discussions that surround this event and future local and national policy making.