By Cllr Gregor Murray
The cost of domestic electricity and gas has soared in recent months.
All indications suggest that the costs will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.
Because of this, the network of five solar farms that Conservatives proposed, and began planning, are even more important than purely as a way of cutting carbon.
As part of writing the Borough’s Climate Emergency Action Plan I committed at council to taking greater control our energy generation, storage and distribution.
I knew that the Electric Cars, additional technology and the demands of home working, entertainment and increasingly technology dependent lives meant that if we don’t become masters of our own destiny we will only become more dependent and then beholden on the energy supply, and prices of others.
As Executive Member for Climate Emergency I asked the council’s energy team to start writing an Energy Strategy.
In it I wanted to identify and attempt to forecast the energy needs of our community over the next five, 10, 15, and 20 years and then set about putting in place strategies and interventions that ensure that we are continually increasing the percentage of energy generated in our borough, rather than becoming more beholden to energy companies and grid suppliers.
There was also an economic angle to my Energy Strategy request.
Generating electricity that can then be sold to the national grid creates ongoing revenue that can then be used to fund other local services, subsidise other environmental initiatives and also to support those in our community most at risk of fuel poverty.
Last year, I put forward a proposal for the first of five solar farms across our borough, using land already owned by the council, that might otherwise have become housing.
The approved solar farm at Barkham, that will begin construction later this year, was last estimated to generate a profit in excess of £1million a year for the council, even after paying both the interest and the value of the loan required to pay for it.
To put that into perspective that represents an incremental 1% to the council’s budget.
What is great about it is that once built, the cost of generating electricity remains broadly consistent, making the generation of low cost electricity a possibility even while wholesale prices continue to rise.
Solar Farms aren’t the only way of generating cheap, green energy.
While Executive Member, I saw a fantastic presentation on oscillating wind generation.
Imagine objects that look like bollards lining the sides of our major roads, like the A329M. Anytime a bus, lorry, van or cars goes past the resulting wind causes them to shake and that shaking generates a small amount of electricity.
By themselves they wouldn’t generate a huge amount of power, but together 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 of them would.
The strategy I asked for would look at other ways to generate electricity in our community, using space that is otherwise unexploited, such as solar canopies over car parks, and solar cladding on building walls and rooftops, turbines in rivers.
It is unlikely that we will ever generate all of our energy needs local, but, reducing our reliance on national providers and fossil fuels can only be a good thing for our environment.
Providing more, low cost energy into the national grid will help reduce bills and would also help fund services that all our residents and enjoy.
Cllr Gregor Murray is the shadow member for climate emergency and Conservative ward councillor for Norreys.
