About Energise South Downs
Powering the energy transition in the South Downs and surrounding areas
What is Energise South Downs?
Energise South Downs is a non-profit co-operative, one of over 400 other ‘community energy’ organisations in the UK.
What is Community Energy?
Community energy projects involve groups of people coming together to purchase, manage or generate energy – or to reduce consumption of energy. This includes (but is not limited to), solar panels, wind farms, hydro power, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging points, car clubs and fuel poverty alleviation schemes.
Community energy schemes deliver carbon savings through locally generated renewable energy projects, funded by local investment. They give communities a say in how and where their power is generated, placing you, the citizens and communities, at the centre of the low carbon transition.
Community power contributes towards improving energy independence, energy efficiency, and ensuring a secure and sustainable energy supply.
This approach to energy provision can also create local jobs, with profits channelled into local projects such as energy advice schemes and fuel poverty programmes.
Community energy is good for people and planet.
Current Vacancies
Communications Manager
This is an exciting opportunity for a person with experience in communications and marketing campaigns to join our small but expanding team. We are looking to extend reach, build our network and develop a stronger online presence across our different project areas. The initial marketing campaign for this role will focus on promoting our upcoming share offer to raise the capital for our first three solar PV projects which we aim to launch in Spring 2025.
Hours: 2 days a week (15 hours)
Salary: £13,260 per annum (£33,150 full time equivalent)
Closing date: 13th Jan 2025
Find out more about the job, and how to apply here.
Projects Manager
This is an exciting opportunity for a person with experience in project management to join our small but expanding team. The Project Manager for Community Energy will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating renewable energy generation projects within the community. These projects are aimed at decarbonising organisations while empowering local communities to manage their energy needs.
Hours: 2 days a week (15 hours)
Salary: £13,260 per annum (£33,150 full time equivalent)
Closing date: 13th Jan 2025
Find out more about the job, and how to apply here.
Core Team
Catriona Cockburn
CEO, Director and Founder
Having worked in the NHS for twenty years, three years ago Catriona moved into the environment sector, she was a founding member and Trustee of Petersfield Climate Action Network.
With a passion for renewable energy Catriona now brings her MSc. in Leadership and Service Development as well as project management skills to Energise South Downs.
Catriona enjoys working with and getting to know the community around her, she is developing her skill set and knowledge through the excellent courses offered by Centre of Alternative Technology and is excited about developing renewable energy projects locally which will benefit the local community.
Having lived in Petersfield for 15 years with her family one of her favourite past times is running in the South Downs National Park.
Amelia Gabriel
Programme Manager
Amelia has joined ESD with experience in project, event and programme management from a variety of charities tackling social mobility, youth mentoring and climate action. She is passionate about addressing the climate crisis, empowering communities and transitioning to cleaner energy.
Outside of work she enjoys admiring trees through the seasons with her children.
Katherine Hewetson
Community Lead and Facilitator
Katherine is an experienced facilitator and learning designer. For 20 years she has worked with and in social enterprises training and nurturing individuals, organisations and communities to flourish and collaborate in order to create lasting change. She believes passionately that creating change and impact does not only come from doing more but also from building relationships and being our full and human selves.
Jennifer Hadley
Project Manager
Jennifer is an experienced Project Manager. For 15 years she worked for international development and humanitarian aid agencies, managing projects overseas, including in the areas of climate resilience and sustainability. She is passionate about working with local organisations and communities in and around the South Downs to help them decarbonise and manage their energy needs for a more sustainable future.
Outside of work, she enjoys walking in the Hampshire countryside with her family and singing in a local choir.
Louise Bevan
Future Energy Landscape Facilitator
Louise is a learning and development designer with 30 years experience in public health, working collaboratively across government, NHS, and local communities to build the skills needed for healthy, sustainable places. She believes people and communities thrive when they shape decisions that matter to them, and is passionate about supporting inclusive, informed discussions on the energy transition and renewable energy solutions that best suit communities and their local landscape.
Directors
Graham De'ath
Finance - Non-executive director
Graham is a chartered actuary and is a partner at a professional services firm. His experience includes advising large UK pension schemes on how climate risk could affect them, and what actions they could take to mitigate these risks.
Graham’s expertise includes financial modelling. He helps Energise South Downs to analyse the costs and revenues for potential new energy projects.
Graham is excited by the potential for Energise South Downs to develop substantial community-owned renewable energy resources in Hampshire and also by the opportunity to use surplus profits to support the local communities in which we operate.
Graham is married with two school-age children, and lives in Winchester. He enjoys cycling through the Hampshire countryside and in the evenings you may spot him playing keyboards with his band.
Rosie Howatt
Projects - Non-executive director
Rosie is an accomplished energy professional with 20 years of experience in government, private industry and global organisations. Her expertise spans policy development, feasibility studies, Environmental Impact Assessment, stakeholder engagement, project management, emergency and crisis management and consenting for nationally significant offshore wind infrastructure projects.
Rosie holds a First-class BSc degree in Marine Geography from Cardiff University. Rosie is thrilled to join the ESD board to support community energy projects that benefit local areas.
Rosie is married with two children and lives in Upham. In her spare time, Rosie enjoys running or cycling in the South Downs.
Matt Warner
Business Development - Non-executive director
Matt is an accomplished energy professional with a diverse background as a geoscientist, project manager, and business developer. His experience working with multiple project operators across the energy sector has equipped him with a comprehensive understanding of the key elements that drive successful projects. In recent years, Matt has specialized in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), focusing on delivering solutions for hard-to-abate industrial facilities across Europe. His expertise in portfolio prioritisation, project development, and partnership management positions him to help advance ESD’s mission.
Passionate about creating impactful, community-led and owned projects, Matt is dedicated to helping ESD drive decarbonization efforts that deliver tangible benefits to local communities.
Based in Petersfield, Matt is married with three children. When he’s not spending time with his family, you’ll likely find him on the pitch, playing football for the Petersfield Town Vets team!
Pippa Heggie
Communications - Non-executive director
Pippa is the Membership Development Manager for the UK Environmental Law Association. Having worked both as an Environmental Solicitor, PR Consultant, Marketing Manager and Fundraising Coordinator she has a range of experience and a passion for the environment.
Malinka Van Der Gaauw
Communications
In the past Malinka has written succinctly about complex political situations in far flung places, outdoor experiential education & most recently marketing Petersfield’s successful, inaugural Walking Festival. Although technically a Petersfield resident since 1996 she has only recently returned home, after living overseas for almost 20 years. This experience opened her eyes to the effect of the climate crisis beyond our shores as well as the beauty on our doorstep. When not writing, Malinka can be found out walking – exploring the Western Weald.
Martin Heath
Technical - Non-executive director
Martin is one of the partners in Basingstoke Energy Coop and has many years experience of installing solar and other renewable technologies in domestic, commercial and public sites.
Liz Bisset
Membership Secretary, Petersfield Area Co-ordinator
Liz believes that community energy has an important part to play in reducing carbon emissions and would like to see community-led renewable energy generation projects across the South Downs and surrounding areas, helping to increase energy security, to reduce transmission losses and resource inefficiency and to engage people in local action on climate change, fuel poverty and innovation. She is very excited to be part of the start-up of Energise South Downs and hopes to contribute by networking and involving as many local communities, businesses, schools, farmers and individuals as possible, in community energy projects, to effect long-term system change.
Andy Figgins
Legal Affairs Director - Chair of Board of Directors
Andy Figgins is a seasoned energy projects lawyer with over 25 years of experience in project agreements, financings and operations in the oil & gas sector. While his career has been in places such as Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman and other developing countries, there are many transferable aspects that can help UK community energy. Seeking redemption for a fossil fuel career, Andy is now supporting ESD as a director and on the legal aspects such as governance, agreements and regulatory framework.
Peter Carver
Finance - Director
Peter is a qualified accountant who was worked in private practice, industry and the public sector.
Peter trained as an accountant in Exeter preparing accounts for sole traders and small businesses. After qualifying he joined Peat Marwick London where he worked on large company audits, stock exchange listings and general financial advisory work. Peter then joined Ocean Group’s Environmental and waste management business based in London as Financial Controller and subsequently moved to be Finance Director to the DHL’s international shipping agency working with Far East and African businesses.
Following a reorganisation Peter left to join the Environmental Agency in Worthing as Finance and Corporate Services Manager responsible for Finance, Planning, Legal, Estates, Procurement and Facilities teams. During his time here Peter undertook a special role in relation to setting policy for, reviewing and approving EA and Local Authority flood risk and environmental projects. Peter’s last role was as Deputy Finance Director at DEFRA supporting the Rural Payments Agency.
Peter has recently retired and moved with his wife Rachel to Petersfield. They have three grown up children one of whom lives in Petersfield and has had a young daughter during the pandemic. Peter states ‘The natural world and our environmental footprint have been areas of key interest to me during my careers and I now look forward to contributing to the work of Energise South Downs’.
Lynne Fornieles
Architectural & Planning Advisor
Lynne Has worked for many years as an architect in the South Downs with a particular interest in Sustainability and Green Architecture.
Lynne’s passion now is to help meet the challenges that face all if us in terms of creating renewable energy sources and to develop sustainable communities of families, individuals and businesses. Her years as a climate activist have made it clear to her the urgency and importance of taking firm steps to progress this intention as quickly as possible
Rachel Ritchie
Energise South Downs - Energy Lead
Rachel is a UN-accredited Climate Change Teacher with ten years’ experience teaching about climate change both as a primary class teacher and as a visiting speaker to local schools (both primary and secondary). Her awareness of climate change dates back to the time before becoming a teacher when, alongside working as a Chartered Accountant she took an Environmental Studies degree from the Open University. Rachel has been working to educate others around climate issues since she graduated in 2010, as well as trying to reduce her own carbon emissions. More recently I‘ve also been talking to adults (including local environmental groups, students at Winchester University, and Parish Councils) about the urgency of the Climate Crisis and offering them possible solutions. Rachel currently lives in a village near Petersfield, where she is active with the Parish Council’s Community and Environment Group, she also runs an Eco Café in Petersfield. Rachel says ‘I have been involved with Energise South Downs from its inception and I’m looking forward to helping our communities to decarbonise through renewable energy initiatives’.
Local Co-ordinators
Jane Healey, Katherine Hewetson, Sarah Greene
Harting Area Co-ordinators
Sarah, Jane and Katherine are the original members of Harting CAN. From a communications, arts and social enterprise background they are mobilising the parish to learn and act together to address the climate crisis. Their vision is a community that innovates and creates vibrant solutions to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, that makes use of renewable resources whilst building a strong collective movement around climate action.
“We are thrilled to be part of Energise South Downs and to help our community understand the benefits and impact of community energy. We know that we can work better together to decarbonise and protect our environment.”
Chris Lang
Alton Area Co-ordinator
Chris leads the Powering Up renewable energy initiative for Energy Alton and also volunteers with the Alton Repair Cafe. He is a software and systems engineer by trade having worked on many different IT projects across government. Chris is keen to make as big a contribution towards combating the climate emergency as he can, hence he also helps out with ESD wherever he can.
Most of Chris’ spare time is spent feeding and transporting his two daughters around Alton. Any time left over, that isn’t spent on renewable energy, is taken up with amateur theatre, gardening and even a little astronomy.
Sue Crossley
Hambledon Area Co-ordinator
Sue is a founder member of Hambledon Greening which has raised much awareness within the community towards action around the climate crisis, building from the smallest actions of Recycling, to Renaturing and Retrofit and Community Energy. A chartered surveyor trained in Land Management and a founder partner of The Country House Company, Sue is married to a farmer and together with their son is converting the farm to organic.
Sue has a passion for sustainable environmental matters, keen to help evolve,and enable the community to live and work sustainably and economically in harmony with the beautiful environment of the south Downs.
Danny Lee
Winchester District Area Co-ordinator
Danny is a Trustee at ‘Winchester Action on the Climate Crisis’ (WinACC), works on local and national environmental lobbying issues, and as a Citizens Advice advisor. This follows a career as a Mariner and sustainable design-and-build research and with the Environment Agency. One of his companies received a 2015 national Green Apple Award for an Eco-rating tool in the ‘Built Environment & Architectural’ category.
Danny is keen to close the sustainability gap in thinking and practice focused on the United Nation’s holistic need to address the ‘Triple Challenge’: stop Climate degradation, rising Pollution and loss of Biodiversity. The interdependence between these aspects and Energy and Food security are upmost in his concerns. He hopes to help and see local towns and parishes become more sustainable places to live and work.
Sue Hoar and Andrea Linell
Eco Rother Area Local Co-ordinators
Louise Bevan
Liphook Area Local Co-ordinator