Proposed by Councillor Gill Gardiner

Seconded by Councillor Simon Holbrook

Council welcomes the Government's announcement of its intention to give local authorities the power, through legislative changes, to sell excess electricity generated by them from renewable resources back to the National Grid.

Council notes:

(a)  That, at present, only 0.01% of electricity in England is generated by local authority owned renewables, despite the scope that exists to install projects on local authority owned land and buildings. In Germany the equivalent figure is 100 times higher.

(b)  That, at present, local authorities are able to put any renewable electricity they generate to local use, and benefit from the associated feed-in tariff for projects smaller than 5MW. The legislative changes will remove restrictions on selling any excess renewable electricity into the grid.

(c)  That the steps that are now being taken to extend the rights of Councils could mean up to £200m a year in new income for local authorities across England and Wales.

(d)  The potential environmental benefits to Wirral Council of this new Government policy in terms of meeting climate change targets, reducing the carbon budget and benefiting from Feed in Tariffs and other incentives to renewable generation.

(e)  The potential financial benefits to Wirral Council of this new Government policy in terms of reduced electricity bills and potential income.

(f)  The opportunity to integrate green technology such as wind turbines and solar panels for electricity generation and combined heat and power as part of the ongoing office accommodation change project.

(g)  The potential to explore partnership working with renewable energy technology companies and social housing providers to install micro-generation technology on their properties in order to generate cheaper electricity for the benefit of tenants and the Council.

Therefore, Council resolves:

(1)  To expand its renewable energy generation.

(2)  To instruct officers to ensure that renewable energy projects are an integral part of the office accommodation strategy.

(3)  To instruct officers to report back to the appropriate Cabinet member and to the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the earliest opportunity.

Resolved (unanimously) - Council welcomes the Government's announcement of its intention to give local authorities the power, through legislative changes, to sell excess electricity generated by them from renewable resources back to the National Grid.

Council notes:

(a)  That, at present, only 0.01% of electricity in England is generated by local authority owned renewables, despite the scope that exists to install projects on local authority owned land and buildings. In Germany the equivalent figure is 100 times higher.

(b)  That, at present, local authorities are able to put any renewable electricity they generate to local use, and benefit from the associated feed-in tariff for projects smaller than 5MW. The legislative changes will remove restrictions on selling any excess renewable electricity into the grid.

(c)  That the steps that are now being taken to extend the rights of Councils could mean up to £200m a year in new income for local authorities across England and Wales.

(d)  The potential environmental benefits to Wirral Council of this new Government policy in terms of meeting climate change targets, reducing the carbon budget and benefiting from Feed in Tariffs and other incentives to renewable generation.

(e)  The potential financial benefits to Wirral Council of this new Government policy in terms of reduced electricity bills and potential income.

(f)  The opportunity to integrate green technology such as wind turbines and solar panels for electricity generation and combined heat and power as part of the ongoing office accommodation change project.

(g)  The potential to explore partnership working with renewable energy technology companies and social housing providers to install micro-generation technology on their properties in order to generate cheaper electricity for the benefit of tenants and the Council.

Therefore, Council resolves:

(1)  To expand its renewable energy generation.

(2)  To instruct officers to ensure that renewable energy projects are an integral part of the office accommodation strategy.

(3) To instruct officers to report back to the appropriate Cabinet member and to the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the earliest opportunity.