Dartmoor Declares
Energy Independence
Local energy for a more resilient Dartmoor
Dartmoor Declares Energy Independence starts with a practical need: initially helping farms and community sites to invest in solar panels and where appropriate batteries to reduce costs and improve resilience.
But the project is also asking a bigger question. How can Dartmoor become less exposed to rising energy costs, less dependent on distant systems, and better able to shape its own future?
We are starting with real places, real bills and practical installations. What we learn will help us understand how local energy could support communities, strengthen rural livelihoods and build a more resilient Dartmoor.
The question
What would it take for Dartmoor to have more reliable, local and community-minded energy?
Energy is not just infrastructure.
It affects the cost of running homes and farms, community buildings and local services. Disruptions impact our resilience. It affects whether places can plan ahead with confidence.
On Dartmoor, we can also ask:
Who benefits?
What value stays locally?
How can investment help communities become stronger?
What would make the system more reliable over time?
What we are doing
Dartmoor Futures is supporting a pilot for farm and community sites on Dartmoor.
The first phase has surveyed 10 sites and identified strong candidates for investment.
We have secured capital funding to offer a small number of interest-free loans to help sites invest in solar panels and batteries.
The project will support 6–8 installations and help us learn whether this model can work, grow and attract further investment.
Alongside the practical pilot, we are bringing people together to think about the bigger picture: local energy planning, reliability, resilience and the future of energy systems on Dartmoor.
What we are learning
This project helps us test what it takes to move from ambition to delivery.
We are learning about:
which sites are most ready to move forward
what support farm and community sites need
how small loans could help unlock investment
how solar and battery storage can reduce costs and improve resilience
how local energy projects could connect into a wider Dartmoor strategy
We are also learning how to make the process easier, clearer and faster for future phases.
Partners
This work is being developed with Dartmoor National Park Authority, who are both a key partner and funder of the pilot.
The project also involves land owners, farm and community sites across Dartmoor, alongside technical partners, renewable energy specialists and wider local and national stakeholders.
Dartmoor Futures’ role is to support the pilot, manage learning, convene partners and explore how this work could grow into a longer-term approach to energy resilience on Dartmoor.