RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS

‘A VERY BRIGHT IDEA’, SAYS JOHN

JANUARY 13, 2010

Carlisle’s would-be MP John Stevenson has lent his support to a proposal to set up community-owned renewable energy projects across Cumbria.

    He says the plan, put forward by economic development agency Cumbria Vision, is “a very bright idea”.

    John, the Conservatives’ prospective parliamentary candidate for Carlisle, says it could form an important part of the county’s future “clean energy” policy.

    “We need urgent action needed to combat climate change, so it’s time to rethink the way we supply and consume energy in Britain and ensure energy security,” he says.

    “Britain – and Cumbria in particular – has the natural resources to generate wind and wave power, a skilled workforce trained in the energy industry and a high-tech manufacturing sector.

    “Anything we can do to use all that to develop renewable and low carbon energy sources should be a priority for all of us – especially if, as with this idea, it leads to direct financial benefits for the people living here.”

    Cumbria Vision wants to establish a Community Energy Trust to ensure people living in the county benefit more directly from renewable energy development

    Residents of Cumbria are now being asked if they are keen to see such a Trust established with proposals to assist projects spanning wind, hydro, biomass, solar and geothermal technologies.

    The initial questionnaire also asks if Cumbrians would be willing to invest their own money in community-owned renewable projects, which in turn would offer them financial returns from the production of “clean” energy and from initiatives where surplus energy is sold back to the National Grid.

    The model includes a proposal to divert a share of the profits into local community projects and into helping other communities develop their own renewable energy schemes.

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