08 Jun 2009 12:06:10
Public sector urged to generate UK renewable energy
Public sector organisations in the UK have been urged to use their land and property for the generation of renewable energy.
According to the Environment Agency and Partnerships for Renewables, local councils and agencies could generate enough electricity to power 1.5 million households across the country.
Commenting on World Environment Day (June 5th), the organisations estimated that the UK's public sector, which owns ten percent of its land, has the potential to provide 3GW of power.
This would be enough to power residential populations in Newcastle, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and Doncaster while also delivering to the community annual savings of three million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Tony Grayling, head of climate change and sustainable development at the Environment Agency, said that investment in green technologies such as wind turbines will help to cut carbon emissions and save the taxpayer money.
"The pressures businesses and the public sector are facing may tempt them to cut corners and spend less attention on environmental improvement programmes, but it is now more important than ever before that we look to alternative sources of energy to meet our demands," he added.
Partnerships for Renewables' chief executive Stephen Ainger added that the UK's public sector is uniquely positioned to "set the standard" for countries all over the world to reduce CO2 emissions.
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