Dudgeon Community Fund grants for 2022/23 STEM projects in Norfolk
The Dudgeon Community Fund has recently awarded grants to seven schools and colleges in the Great Yarmouth, North Norfolk and Breckland districts of Norfolk to support an exciting array of STEM projects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) during the 2022/23 academic year, which commences in September 2022.
Karl Butler
The Dudgeon Community Fund receives a donation of £100,000 per annum from the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, which is operated by Equinor. In announcing these latest grant awards, Karl Butler, the Dudgeon Plant Manager, said:
“The diversity of STEM topics being supported by these grants is impressive, including an in-school engineering hub, engineering and medical imaging, a British Science Week programme, a robotics competition and a carbon literacy project.”
He added:
“As a result of the educational partnership across Norfolk, students from at least 24 schools and colleges will benefit from our latest STEM grants, and hopefully my colleagues and I will have the opportunity to attend some of the project delivery sessions.”
The schools and colleges which will be receiving grants are Dereham Neatherd High School, East Coast College, East Norfolk Sixth Form College, East of England Energy Group, Great Yarmouth Charter Academy, Northgate High School and Sheringham High School.
The Dudgeon Community Fund was established in 2018 to support education initiatives which benefit young people living in the Great Yarmouth, Breckland and North Norfolk districts of Norfolk. It is administered by the Norfolk Community Foundation (norfolkfoundation.com).
About Equinor in Norfolk
Equinor is a long-term partner for Norfolk and has been an active member of the community for over a decade through the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms it operates off the Norfolk coast.
The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, Masdar and China Resources, whilst Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, Equitix Offshore 5 (co-owned by Equitix and the Renewable Investment Group TRIG) and a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management).
On behalf of its partners, Equinor is also maturing the proposed Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon extension projects (SEP and DEP). SEP and DEP will double the capacity of the existing Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms, providing renewable energy to power an additional 785,000 UK homes and making an important contribution to the UK’s decarbonisation goals.
Currently, the combined output of both wind farms is sufficient to power around 710,000 UK homes, and the proposed extensions will increase that to nearly 1.5 million UK households.
Both wind farms have established community funds which in total have awarded over £ 1 million to projects in Norfolk. The funds were set up to provide grants to Norfolk community groups, including schools and charities, seeking financial assistance for projects or initiatives that meet key criteria and focus on renewable energy, marine environment and safety, sustainability, or education in these areas. During 2020, the funds provided grant funding to the Norfolk Community Foundation’s COVID-19 funding initiatives, and during 2021 grant funding has been made available to support Norfolk’s ‘every child on-line’ initiative.
Issue date: 06-09-22
For media enquiries, please contact:
Alice Baxter
UK Media Relations Manager, Equinor
abax@equinor.com
+44 7557973941
For consultation or community enquiries, please contact:
Nigel Tompkins, the Projects’ Community Liaison Officer based in Norfolk,
E-mail: nigel@ni4b.co.uk