Back     Latest news from Green Building Press    Subscribe to our newsletter

Singer Lily Allen backs renewables campaign

Posted: 29/04/2008

Pop star Lily Allen is backing a campaign to boost green energy in homes and businesses around the country. Along with an innovative solar powered east London recording studio, she is calling for a financial reward for homes and businesses that generate their own clean renewable energy.

Allen, alongside a host of other campaigners are calling for the Energy Bill to be amended to require energy companies to give long-term contracts guaranteeing a premium price for renewable energy generated by homes and businesses. The scheme, known as a feed-in tariff, would make renewable technologies significantly more cost effective to install.

Feed-in tariff schemes operate in seventeen European countries. It has been especially successful in Germany, which now has 200 times more solar power and more than 10 times more wind power installed than the UK and employs 250,000 people in renewable energy - compared with just 7000 in the UK

A cross party amendment to the Government's Energy Bill, known as `New Clause 4: "Renewable Energy Tariff"', will be debated when the Energy Bill receives its Third Reading in the Commons on 30 April. If adopted it would provide a massive boost to the small scale renewables industry in the UK.

270 MPs, including over 100 Labour MPs, have signed a Parliamentary petition (Early Day Motion) asking for the Energy Bill to be amended to include a feed in tariff for small scale renewables, making it the second most supported petition in the current Parliament out of more than 1400 that have been tabled.

Allen, who has recorded at The Premises solar recording studio in Hackney, is backing campaigners from Friends of the Earth, and the Renewable Energy Association.

The Premises, who's solar studio has also been used by artists such as the Klaxons, Hot Chip, Johnny Borrell, Bloc Party and Alphabeat, has also sent an e-mail to all MPs this week, with a message from Lily Allen, asking them to amend the Energy Bill.

Studio A is the only solar powered recording studio in Europe. State-of-the-art and sustainable, it's powered by 18 photovoltaic panels, which convert light energy into electricity. In one year, the studio will use the same amount of power as it generates. The panels were installed by Chelsfield Solar.

Managing Director of The Premises, Julia Craik, said: "However much they might wish to be green, for many businesses it is simply not financially viable to install renewable energy. If the UK followed the example of Germany and introduced a premium feed-in tariff the initial costs of installing renewable technologies such as our solar panels will be re-couped in a much shorter time, and after that turn a profit. This would be a huge incentive! "

"With more Government action there could be far more solar powered businesses like The Premises Studios and many households would want to generate their own renewable energy. Then the move to be green, that is now an imperative, will have turned a huge corner."

Leonie Greene of the Renewable Energy Association, commenting on the action taken by singer and studio, said: "The renewables industry warmly welcomes the very strong show of support for a UK renewables tariff. A tariff for smaller scale renewables would lead to a massive expansion of locally generated green energy and enable the UK to catch up with the rest of Europe. Now we just need politicians to take action - and they have the chance to do so this Wednesday."

Green Building Press  
 

Back     Latest news from Green Building Press    Subscribe to our newsletter

2445