A Harrogate-based charity is among the local organisations benefiting from a £500,000 fund designed to cut carbon emissions and energy bills across North Yorkshire.
Claro Enterprises, which supports people with long-term mental health conditions through a voluntary commercial workshop, has used a grant from the Net Zero Fund to install solar panels.
The result: significantly lower energy bills and more money available to support mental well-being services in the community.
Claro Enterprises general manager Owen Jones said:
"We do a lot of woodworking, which is really energy intensive. The solar panels that we’ve been able to install as a result of the grant have significantly reduced our energy bills.
“That means the money that would have been spent on those bills can be reinvested in improving the mental well-being of the people in North Yorkshire.”
The funding is being distributed by North Yorkshire Council through the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Net Zero Fund, part of the Government’s regional devolution deal.
Twenty community organisations across the region received support, including Claro Enterprises in Harrogate and Northdale Horticulture in Northallerton.
In total, the measures are expected to save around 99 tonnes of carbon dioxide and generate more than 159,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable electricity annually.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for managing the environment, Cllr Richard Foster, praised the scheme’s early impact.
He said:
“It’s great to see the impact that the grants have had on organisations across the county, which are saving on energy bills and operating more energy efficiently.
“To say we are in our first two years as an authority, we have already delivered on many projects, but we still have much to do.
“There is still a vast amount of work that needs to be done to become carbon neutral, but we have clear ambitions and objectives that I have no doubt will be delivered in the years ahead.”
The grant scheme also forms part of broader efforts by the council to reduce carbon emissions, including developing electric vehicle charging infrastructure and modernising housing and council vehicles.
Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, echoed the praise:
“This is exactly what our Net Zero Fund is about, delivering tangible benefits to our communities.
“Organisations like Northdale Horticulture and Claro Enterprises do such vital work, so it’s great to see them benefiting from significantly lower energy costs. This means they can invest more into what matters most – supporting people who need it.
“These measures save our community organisations money while contributing to our drive towards net zero by 2034 and carbon negative by 2040.
“York and North Yorkshire has the world-class universities, natural resources, and the ambition to be a true trailblazer for the UK in reaching net zero.
"By backing projects like these, we are delivering cleaner air, economic growth, and a more sustainable future for everyone in our region.”
With its newly installed solar panels, Claro Enterprises is leading the way in Harrogate—proving that sustainability and community care can go hand in hand.
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