With such a huge focus on environmentally friendly energy production it is interesting to hear that in Cambridge only four council properties out of a possible 7,000 council properties plus have had solar panels installed. This has led to Labour complaining that the Lib Dem run council is lagging behind the times.
Solar panels (image credit: ell brown)
The Cherry Hinton Labour representative, Councillor Rob Dryden, pointed out that although the council were regularly informing the public in Cambridge as to how well they were performing when it came to green matters, statistics proved otherwise. He claimed that many other local authorities were much greener.
The response from the council was that they did not believe that installing solar panels would be as effective as some other energy saving measures. They have no plans to install any more solar panels. The reasons given for this stance were due to the reduction in what would be paid by way of the feed in tariff scheme that came into effect towards the end of 2012 and the council felt that the installation of solar panels was a costly way to reduce the emission of carbon.
The council pointed out that the Carbon Trust, that is an independently appointed body advising on matters concerning the reduction of carbon, recommended that public bodies consider other energy efficient measures that are felt to be more cost effective before making an investment in solar panelling.
The council produced a carbon management plan not so long ago setting out in excess of 60 cost effective schemes designed to lower the emission of carbon. These schemes will involve investing £2.3 million over a five-year period with £1.7 million being planned already. The council estimate that their fuel and energy costs will drop by £340,000 per annum because of these schemes resulting in payback in under seven years.
