Isra-Mart srl:Cornwall could become renewable energy "laboratory"

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

Cornwall county council has urged the government to use the region as a "living laboratory" to help develop renewable energy for the rest of the UK.

In a letter sent to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) late last week, the council highlighted the scale of Cornwall's renewable resource. The county is already home to several wind farms and solar PV projects as well as two geothermal plants, including one planned for the Eden Project, and the Wave Hub marine energy testing centre.

Tim German, renewable energy and partnerships manager for Cornwall council's Green Cornwall programme, suggested the county could become a renewable energy "observatory" to build a clean-energy economy and create more UK green jobs.

"Being in our geographical position, away from the hubs of large-scale nuclear reactors and power stations, we have to seriously consider our own energy security," he said. "But we see this as a positive economic opportunity rather than just a necessity. We want to build the skills and the businesses, and create low-carbon jobs on the back of renewable energy deployment."

The council has already been in discussions with energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne over how to realise the coalition's plans to become the "greenest government ever". However, these ambitions took a hit with the proposed cuts in feed-in tariffs for large solar farms.

The 70 per cent reduction is likely to hit a number of projects in Cornwall, which has led the council to register its displeasure with the government's "confused stance" on renewable energy.