UK Street Party For Royal Jubilee Is Solar Powered
Wrexham has powered its way to the environmental top spot
following its solar panel fit out on almost 3,000 social housing properties "“
one of the largest in Europe. Residents in Wrexham's Bickerton Drive held their
first solar powered afternoon tea party on Tuesday June 5 to celebrate the
Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Wrexham County Borough Council has carried out one of the
biggest fit outs of solar photovoltaic (PVs) panels on social housing in
Europe. Against the odds, the council along with its partners has fitted in
excess of 25,000 locally made panels on 3,000 homes totaling 5MW.
The bad weather this winter was expected to delay the
project and the government's announcement that is was halving its rate on the
feed in tariff provided a further knock back. However, the council met its
target and deadline to install the PVs before the rate was halved and now whole
streets in the borough are clad in solar panels, which convert energy from
daylight into electrical energy.
One such street is Bickerton Drive in Wrexham where a row
of bungalows is now fitted with PVs. The kettles were powered by solar energy
on Tuesday as residents prepared their afternoon tea. Resident Terence Davies
of Bickerton Drive said: "I didn't know much about them before we were
approached by the Council. They sent us a DVD to have a look at and I thought
I'd give it a try. We've been really happy with them. We had a meter reading
two weeks after they were fitted and we'd saved £3.15 off our bill in that
time."
June Owens also of Bickerton Drive said: "I'd never given
solar panels much thought. I think it is a good thing for the region, and if it
makes a difference to the environment then that's not a bad thing."
The project is boosting the local economy too "“ Japanese
manufacturer, Sharp Solar, which has a base in Wrexham has provided more than
25,000 panels. Sixty-three local people have been employed to work as
installers, tenant liaison officers, electricians and labourers since the
project began.
Council tradesmen have also been trained and many now
possess the MCS accreditation, allowing them to undertake ongoing maintenance
of the equipment.
Leader of Wrexham County Borough Council, Councillor Neil
Rogers, said: "It's good to know that we can celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and
still reduce our carbon footprint. We are on our way to reducing the Borough's
carbon emissions by 50% by 2016 and the solar project is one of our major
initiatives to meet those targets. It is expected to save up to 3,000 tonnes of
CO2 each year. That's the equivalent of planting a forest of 3,000 trees!"
The Council will make a surplus income from the scheme
under the government's feed in tariff programme, which will be reinvested in
council services. Forrest Green "“ the environmental services division of social
housing regeneration specialist Forrest "“ was awarded the project in September
2011 and pulled out all the stops to get the project completed on time.
