Renewable Energy Questionnaire and Oct 7th 2011 Public Meeting
Many households in Elham are installing solar panels on their roofs, to benefit from free electricity while seeing an impressive cash return on their investment. Should you be doing the same? Would a heat pump or a biomass boiler to provide cheap hot water be a better idea? What government subsidies are available? Where can you get independent advice?
Communities across the country are investing in larger schemes to provide heat or power to hundreds or thousands of properties. Can Elham be powered from a large array of solar panels, or a wind turbine? How much money would the village receive in feed-in tariffs from such schemes? Are these good ideas or bad?
We will be considering these subjects, and many more topics about renewable energy at an Open Meeting in Elham Village Hall on 7th October at 7:30 pm. Please come along to support, to object, to discuss, or to listen.
Look out also for the Elham Environment Group Renewable Energy questionnaire which will be dropping
through your letterbox during August. Your answers will help us in preparing for the October meeting, and two lucky Elham residents will win £25 when their questionnaires are picked out of the hat.
So make a note now: Renewable Energy discussion, Elham Village Hall, Friday 7th October, 7:30 pm.
You can also fill in the Renewable Energy Questionnaire on-line at www.surveymonkey.com/s/L9NRX8G
Using Less Energy and Using Renewable Energy
According to figures from BP, at current rates of use, the world has 42 years of known oil reserves left and 60 years of gas. More will be discovered but it will be increasingly expensive. It is also widely agreed that we must reduce emission of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels and reduce our 'carbon footprint'. To achieve this we have to do two things: use less energy, and use renewable energy. But what is the best way to do this here, in Elham? What can individual households do, and what could we do as a community? Members of the Elham Environment Group have been meeting with organisations who have experience and expertise in these areas, such as Woking Borough Council, who are one of the UK’s largest users of photovoltaic solar panels and small-scale combined heat-and-power generators, and the Bay Trust environmental organisation in St. Margaret’s at Cliffe. As a next step, and in discussion with the parish council, district council and county council, we are looking into the possibility of an environmental audit of the village, performed by independent experts. This would be an in-depth study of how we might best exploit existing and emerging eco-technologies for energy reduction and renewable energy supply, and which options might be most appropriate for the Elham community. If and when we get agreement from the various local authorities, and find grants to fund this, and agree on a suitable auditing organisation (there are a lot of ‘ifs’) we will report on the next steps. If anyone has any questions or suggestions please contact Paul Bright on 840235 or paulbright@btinternet.com.