Ventbag

Not content with refusing to lift planning regulations on installation of solar panels and wind turbines in this country our wonderful government now wants to throw a spanner in the works of European micro-generation.

55% of the world’s photovoltaic power is generated from the 300,000 systems in Germany. A ‘Feed- in’ system due to a German law obliges power companies to buy energy back from renewable resources at above market prices for a 20 year period.

The British government wants to scrap ‘Feed-in’ systems for a Europe wide quota system which would mean variable prices for renewable energy rather than the fixed price tariff which Germany relies upon. Read the full article – in Permaculture Magazine.

Personal Power – Patrick Whitefield urges us all to write to our local MP, in our case Andrew Turner, 24 The Mall, Carisbrooke Road, Newport IW, PO30 1BW, asking that the letter be forwarded to the appropriate minister. A letter coming from an MP carries more weight than a direct one from a member of the public. The main points to mention are:

• Feed-in tariffs have proved much more successful than the British quota system in raising the amount of renewable energy generated.
• Britain should adopt feed-in tariffs immediately.
• At the very least we should not impose the quota system on the rest of Europe.

I hope Patrick and Maggie will forgive me for copying the Personal Power bit above straight from Permaculture Magazine.

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