Kirklees leading the field on renewable energy
25 November 2005
A national trailblazing commitment pioneered by Green Cllr Andrew Cooper to include renewable energy requirements in all new public buildings in Kirklees has been agreed to by the council's Cabinet.
Kirklees is the first council in the country to set such a policy, which aims to ensure that by 2011 at least 30% of energy consumption is through renewable sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, and biomass boiler plants that run off non-fossil fuel such as wood pellets and vegetable oil.
The immediate effect of the policy is that all new public buildings will have their energy needs met from 10% renewable energy sources rising by 5%/year till 2011 when the 30% target will be met. New residential homes and schools now under construction or in the design stage are already incorporating wind turbines and solar panels.
Cllr Andrew Cooper, the council's Cabinet member for Housing and Property, said:
"This is a groundbreaking policy with national significance: the first time a Council has mainstreamed the installation of renewable energy into all its new public buildings.
"We are effectively setting our own version of the Building Regulations for renewable energy in Kirklees that will impact every residential home, every children's centre and every school we build. This policy ensures a new high standard for buildings in the future and that future is green.
"As conventional fuel prices for gas and oil continue to rise, and our emissions continue to damage our atmosphere, we must look to more cost-effective and ecologically friendly energy sources. Investment in renewable energy is not only good news for Council taxpayers of today but also in years to come.
"By raising the standard for the percentage of a building's energy to be provided by renewable energy over the next five years, we recognise that it will not only become technically easier to have higher standards but also economically so as industry gears up to meet increasing demands for green technology.
"The Green Party hopes to have 40% of energy coming from renewable resources by 2020, and to reduce domestic energy demand by holding house construction to higher standards. This should begin in individual councils. I hope other councils will follow the trend begun in Kirklees when determining their own building programmes.
"The ability for Kirklees to pursue this new policy is largely due to the practical experience we have gained from installing solar and wind energy on existing buildings. Renewable energy is the way forward."
Notes:
Kirklees Council, in West Yorkshire, is shared Administration between the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats. The Green Party are responsible for Housing and Property issues through Cabinet Member Andrew Cooper.
