Another recent exchange of emails regarding the cut to the solar PV Feed In Tariffs in theHuddersfield Examiner. RJ Bray can be forgiven for taking some of the dubious misinformation from Government and in the papers about the cost of Feed In Tariffs at face value but maybe not on describing me as "Clr Khan’s friendly Green ". More research required R J! If he'd stuck 'occasionally' in front that would be fine! Anyway here's R J followed by myselfKIRKLEES Council leader Clr Mehboob Khan’s latest gripe is that money which he hoped to receive for a solar energy panel scheme which were to be fitted to 1,000 council properties has now been cancelled.
Clr Khan’s friendly Green Clr Andrew Cooper told the Examiner that it was a blow to the elderly and vulnerable people currently living in fuel poverty.
So does Clr Cooper’s statement mean that there are only 1,000 people in the Huddersfield area living in fuel poverty and all are currently living in council property? I think not.
Come the cold months myself and her that shall be obeyed will be wearing more layers than an onion has skins due to the criminally high energy prices.
Clr Khan and Clr Cooper I feel would have more credibility if they represented the collective rather than a select few.
Why do they not campaign for cheaper energy for everyone or more winter fuel allowance for those in more need?
Instead, they help create higher energy bills for people by having them fund through their meters the feed-in tariffs for those who have solar panels or wind turbines.
In this manner they also put more money into the energy companies’ pockets. In all fairness, is this right?
Alternative energy will never drive our country forward. It will have the reverse effect and send our country back to the Stone Age.
Industry along with our homes cannot be sustained by wind, solar or wave power. It’s a little like a dripping tap into an empty reservoir at the height of summer.
The country needs a nuclear project and it needs it now if we are to get away from fossil fuels and be less dependent on gas from overseas. Let’s not forget the madcap carbon capture process that is to get underway at the cost of billions of pounds to the taxpayer along with industry itself.
Maybe Clr Khan and Clr Cooper could ask for some money from that major worthless project called the European Union which drives these schemes.
I agree that we must pollute our atmosphere less and giant steps have been taken – but let us remember that this cannot be at the cost of the extinction of mankind, otherwise what has it all been for?
R J Bray
Shelley
Read More http://www.examiner.co.uk/views-and-blogs/reader-letters/2011/12/03/examiner-letters-june-2011-86081-29886400/#ixzz1fgGUnGIB
To the Editor
RJ Bray (Examiner 3/12) takes me to task for my dismay over the government cuts to the funding of the Feed In Tariff for solar panels and in particular the suspending of the Council scheme to install solar panels on the homes of 1000 Council Tenants. He says,
“does Clr Cooper’s statement mean that there are only 1,000 people in the Huddersfield area living in fuel poverty and all are currently living in council property?”
No I don’t, but it would be a start to help those people by running such a scheme which could then be expanded later. There are also currently schemes available for private householders where the panels are installed for free and the householders get the benefit of the electricity in return for handing the Feed in Tariff to the installing company. A number of households around Huddersfield have done this already. If he wants details I’ll pass them onto him. Of course not everyone can benefit from this scheme due to the orientation or size of their roof but many can. So the existing policy framework for solar is one which many people can take advantage of but changes by the government threaten its viability for everyone.
Mr Bray says that Feed In Tariffs,
“help create higher energy bills for people by having them fund through their meters the feed-in tariffs for those who have solar panels or wind turbines”
The actual impact of the Feed In Tariff policy on energy bills last year was 30p for the average household. This is less than a penny a week. The cost of a new nuclear power station, which Mr Bray is so keen on, can be a round £4.25 Billion and that doesn’t take into account the decommissioning costs and the costly handling of dangerous nuclear waste. This will have a much more significant impact on energy bills.
He asks of myself and Cllr Khan,
“Why do they not campaign for cheaper energy for everyone”
I don’t presume to speak for Cllr Khan but for my part I successfully proposed making insulation free for all householders in Kirklees, I was the trustee of a national fuel poverty charity for 8 years and have helped many householders reduce their fuel bills through advice on energy tariffs and by getting information out to householders on a number of ways to help reduce fuel bills. So I don’t believe I’m deficient in wanting to help people reduce their bills.
Mr Bray goes on to say,
“Industry along with our homes cannot be sustained by wind, solar or wave power.”
I agree to a point. In addition we are going to need greater levels of energy efficiency in buildings better controls and energy management, district heating systems, anaerobic digestion and a whole host of other actions to make the future of energy supply in the UK more secure. Althis l does rather beg a question why only Malta and Luxembourg in Europe have a worse proportion of their energy generated from renewable sources than the UK. What is technically possible on the continent seems somehow difficult here. The laws of physics are not different this side of the channel but some attitudes, prejudices and opinions among some certainly are.
Councillor Andrew Cooper - Green Party
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