IMAGINE having an endless source of environmentally-friendly fuel to heat your home right on your doorstep that you control.

That is the dream of former forester Tom Curtis – and he is looking for like-minded Oxfordshire residents to get on board.

Mr Curtis, an environmental consultant from Jericho, is proposing a scheme where communities could buy or lease their own bit of woodland for wood fuel.

As part of that he believes that whole rows of neighbours could heat their homes with the gathered fuel in a communal burner.

He said: “We’re proposing a renewable heat source owned by the community, for the community which is low risk and completely affordable.”

Communities would form companies to manage their woods and their tiny power plant, with each member a shareholder.

The actual harvesting of the wood would all be done by a forestry contractor, of which there are plenty in Oxfordshire, so that row of houses with their communal burner would just need to wait for their regular delivery.

A communal 200kW wood burner and boiler that could heat 20 homes would cost about £200,000.

People across Oxfordshire would be invited to invest to help fund each system for a small return – the same model used by the group who successfully funded a hydroelectric power plant on the Thames at Osney Lock in Oxford.

Mr Curtis has drawn up a business plan with the same group that helped bring that scheme to life – Oxford’s Low Carbon Hub, which has expertise in bringing investors in community energy companies together.

Now all they need is some willing guinea pigs to prove their idea works.

Mr Curtis, 41, said: “These systems are low on carbon emissions, good in terms of cost and they are a renewable resource.”

The second benefit is communities owning and managing woodlands right here in Oxfordshire.

He said: “This is also good for the woods.

“Woodlands in the UK have been managed for thousands of years – our woods are adapted to management, and it can be really beneficial to wildlife.”

The target customers would probably be people who are off-grid and using expensive oil to heat their homes.

* To get in touch email adriano.figueiredo@lowcarbonhub.org.