Free off-grid solar workshops

Energise Sussex Coast are running two free off-grid solar power workshops at Central Hall on Thursday 26 November and Thursday 3 December, both from 6pm to 8pm. The first session is Off-grid solar power for beginners, and the second is Sizing your off-grid solar system. They're designed to be taken together, and you don't need any technical background to get involved.

The sessions are aimed at anyone wanting to build a small, 100% off-grid solar power system for a shed, a workshop, a truck or a van. They're led by the organisation's 'green handyman', a self-taught off-grid expert who's been running workshops like this for more than 20 years and has built solar systems to power festival stages. The first night gets you up to speed with the basics, and the second goes into the practical side of sizing a system to fit what you actually need.

Energise Sussex Coast is a local non-profit community benefit society founded in 2012 to tackle the climate crisis and energy injustice through community-owned renewable power. They also run a free Energy Advice service, and their sister project, Energise South, has installed solar panels on eleven sites across East Sussex, including six schools in Hastings & St Leonards, which saved an estimated £62,000 in energy costs last year.

Both workshops are free, and places are bookable at www.energisesussexcoast.co.uk/events. They run at Central Hall, 6 Bank Buildings, Station Road, Hastings, TN34 1NG, from 6pm to 8pm on Thursday 26 November and Thursday 3 December.