The 2nd Yorkshire and Humber Microgeneration Awards were held last night and I am I confess feeling a little delicate at the moment and contemplating drinking my first ever can of 'Red Bull' to see if it really does give you a boost!
It was a good night (obviously!) but particularly for Kirklees. The RE-Charge scheme, a Green Party Initiative, won the Best Policy Category for enabling householders to install renewable energy with no upfront costs. Hillside Primary School in Newsome won the Best School Category for producing 55% of its own energy from onsite renewable sources. Green Councillors have been closely involved with the struggle to get the school built to the high standards the teachers, staff and community wanted. Paul Hudson was presenting the evening and it looks like he may well be doing the official opening of Hillside School later in the year.
The event itself at the Royal York Hotel gave a real boost of confidence to the Microgeneration Sector in the region with 170 people there. Noticeably absent were the Regional Development Agency Yorkshire Forward who still 'don't get' microgeneration or its potential to create worthwhile jobs, reduce carbon and fuel costs and to change society. I really believe having talked to council tenants who have had solar panels that microgeneration can fundamentally change the way people regard themselves. No longer are they simply passive consumers of energy but they are generators and producers of their own heat and power. If we create the conditions for hundreds of thousands of householders to use renewable energy in their home then we will truly be creating an 'Energy Generating Democracy'.
This Red Bull stuff works!
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