Council Leader talks making Swindon carbon neutral

A column by Swindon Borough Council Leader David Renard.

About 18 months ago, we signalled our intention to make the council carbon neutral by the end of the decade, and to support our town to do the same by 2050.

This followed a council-wide motion to reduce the local authority’s carbon emissions and we have taken a number of steps over the last few years to lead on low carbon interventions and improve the local environment.

This has included investing more than £15m in building solar energy farms, installing electric vehicle charging points, converting the vast majority of the borough’s streetlights to LEDs and replacing our own vehicles with electric alternatives once they reach the end of their life.

But local authorities are only responsible for between two and five per cent of their area’s emissions, which is why our Be the Change campaign is encouraging all of us to do our bit, however small, to reduce the effects of climate change.

One way people can reduce their own emissions, while saving money on their energy bills, is through having solar panels on their homes to generate their own electricity.

We have teamed up with Wiltshire Council and independent experts iChoosr to make a group-buying scheme for solar panels and optional battery storage available to local residents.

The scheme will offer more competitive pricing to residents than they might get if they decided to buy the panels on their own. If you own your own home, or have permission from the landlord to install solar panels, you can register your interest in the scheme up until 14 June. Small and medium-sized enterprises (non-domestic) and Commonhold Associations meeting this requirement can also take part. It is free to register and there is no obligation to go ahead with an installation – you can decide once you’ve had your personal recommendation through.

The initiative offers solar panels with optional battery storage and EV charge points, as well as offering battery storage for residents who have already invested in solar panels and are looking to get more from the renewable energy they generate and increase their independence from the grid.

You can even discuss options to divert solar energy to power the immersion heater in your hot water tank if you have one. There have been a number of really successful Solar Together schemes over the last few years, with more than 7,000 installations saving 130,000 tonnes of lifetime carbon emissions.

To find out a bit more about how the Solar Together scheme works I would encourage you to visit www.solartogether.co.uk/swindon

You can also contact iChoosr at [email protected] or 0800 048 8113. If solar panels are not for you, there are other ways you can contribute to tackling climate change outlined at www.swindon.gov.uk/bethechange