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Local Government: A Greener FutureReports Stuart Ryan, 8th July 2010
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne announced at the Local Government Association conference in Bournemouth on July 7th that local councils are to be able to sell energy generated by renewable methods back to the national grid further reinforcing the pledge David Cameron made that this administration is to be the 'greenest ever'. Currently local councils are restricted by the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 in the fact that they are able to sell heat, but not electricity which is produced otherwise than in association with heat. A repeal of this restriction is set to take place by the end of the year. 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 “I want to see this repealed and by the end of the year I hope local authorities will be able to sell electricity from renewables.” This announcement coincided with the publication of the carbon footprint of all local councils for the first time highlighting which local councils can benefit from pursuing a more greener future by reducing cost and being able to generate revenues for local services to keep council tax down. Councils would also be able to take full advantage of the current incentives through Feed-in Tariffs to invest in renewable energy in their own buildings as well as working at a community level with partners on renewable electricity schemes. Repealing this current restriction on Local Government will be seen as a necessary step towards achieving the cut of government department emissions by 10 percent in a year as well as helping towards the Climate Change Act target of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. For further information on how the current Feed-in Tariffs can benefit an individual investor, please refer to "Solar Panels for Stellar Returns and Retirement".
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