Bates urges innovative green communities to bid for slice of £2m British Gas fund (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

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Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

Bates urges innovative green communities to bid for slice of £2m British Gas fund

July 17, 2009 12:00 AM

Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates is urging green communities in Wales not to miss out on their share of a £2million fund opened by British Gas as part of its nationwide 'Green Streets' campaign to encourage innovative energy projects in the heart of British communities.

The fund has been established to support a growing grassroots movement across the country of people who want to bring a new lease of life to their community with ambitious energy projects, but who need help to get their plans off the ground. Any community group with a focus on local renewable energy projects, which can range from solar, wind or hydro power to biomass, ground-source and air-source heat pumps, can compete for a share of the money.

Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Mick stated:

"The British Gas 'Green Streets' campaign is an exciting initiative which recognises that the battle against climate change starts at home and in our local communities. There are many exciting and innovative energy projects across Wales but people need support to help get these schemes off the ground.

"I hope that communities across Wales with innovative ideas for reducing the carbon footprint of their local area will work together to compete for a share of the Green Streets fund. This campaign will help to regenerate communities across the country and put power back in the hands of the people, by encouraging individuals to take action to help build a more sustainable future."

Applications should be made online by 31st August by visiting www.britishgas.co.uk/greenstreets

Notes:

More detail on the Green Streets initiative can be found at www.britishgas.co.uk/greenstreets

For media enquiries:

Please contact Sara Powell-Davies or Rhys Jones in the British Gas press office on 029 2027 5063 or email sara.powell-davies@centrica.com / rhys.jones@centrica.com

About British Gas:

British Gas, the biggest energy supplier in the country and part of the Centrica group of companies.

Centrica is one of the biggest investors in renewable power generation, principally offshore wind farms. Its Lynn and Inner Dowsing development, off the Lincolnshire coast, is the UK's largest offshore wind development.

About Green Streets:

Green Streets was first launched at the end of 2007 as a year-long social experiment run by British Gas, undertaken to help understand better how every household and family across the UK can reduce their energy consumption, cut domestic CO2 emissions and save money on their bills. Eight households in eight 'Green Streets' across eight major UK cities were selected to take part - 64 households in total, including British Gas and non- British Gas customers. Green Streets families started the experiment with carbon emissions of 6.14 tonnes of CO2 per household, slightly above the UK average of 6 tonnes per household for 2006; by the end of the experiment, they had reduced domestic energy use by an average of 25% and carbon emissions by an average of 23%. All research findings were verified by the Institute of Public Policy Research (ippr).

Green Lane in Leeds was declared the winner of Green Streets with almost 35 per cent reduction in their collective energy usage. The residents of Green Lane decided collectively to spend the £50,000 funding a project for Caring for Life, a charity based on a farm on the outskirts of the city, which provides support for homeless and vulnerable people. The project successfully pitched for and received funding for a combination of energy saving and generating technology, including solar pv panels to help make the farm buildings more energy efficient.

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