A news release says…
A ban on councils selling green electricity into the national grid is to be overturned, Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said today as the carbon footprint of every local council in England was published.
In a speech to today’s Local Government Association annual conference, Mr Huhne will say that he wants local councils to be allowed to sell electricity they produce from renewables to the national electricity grid.
Mr Huhne said:
“It’s ridiculous that the 1976 Local Government Act prevents councils from selling electricity from local wind turbines, or from anaerobic digestion.
“I want to see this repealed and by the end of the year I hope local authorities will be able to sell electricity from renewables – generating revenue to help local services and keep Council Tax down. Local communities can truly benefit from the low-carbon transition.”
The carbon footprint of every local council in England is also published today, for the first time. The new figures calculate the CO2produced by councils in powering and heating their buildings, such as libraries, schools and leisure centres, as well as emissions from business travel, fleet vehicles and even refuse trucks.
Mr Huhne said:
“By calculating their own emissions and the estimated costs of energy use, local councils will be able to identify how to save emissions and save money.
“Wasting energy means that money that could be spent on local services is also being wasted. These new statistics should put energy wastage and energy efficiency at the forefront of the minds of councillors and council officials.”
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4 Comments
Excellent news. This gives councils going down this road of local energy companies more options.
Can anyone provide me with a link so that I can see how my council is doing on emissions?
I also wonder how many councils have surplus green energy. I agree that the decision is the right one, but it would be good to know whether it will make a practical difference.
That is indeed ridiculous. Does anybody know why this was ever banned?
The whole structure of trying to stop the public sector competing with the private – which this was about, of course – should be overturned. This was one of the key ways of handcuffing the public sector. I just hope this “thin end of the wedge” is deemed successful, so we can keep on driving in that wedge. Key word here being “deemed”, as it will be down to people’s views, which will be highly polarised!