50% of council electricity now supplied by renewables
From today, Hackney Council will source a minimum of half of its electricity from clean, renewable energy sources.
This is the first step towards securing 100% clean energy across all Council functions as rapidly as possible, following the commitment in last year’s manifesto to transform the way the Council purchases energy by using corporate spending on gas and electricity to increase investment in sources of clean energy.
The switch to a minimum of 50% renewable electricity means that the Council is now investing a significant proportion of its energy budget in renewable energy by changing the way it consumes energy. This approach to transforming the energy system from the bottom up is just one element of part of broader set of decarbonisation measures being delivered by the Council.
In the face of limited Government action to tackle the dire threat of human-induced global warming, Hackney is showing the kind of leadership that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been very clear is necessary to avoid catastrophe. We owe that to the people of Hackney and those across the world already suffering the effects of climate change.
One of the ways we are trying to turn the tide of global warming is by reorienting our consumption of energy towards an approach increasingly characterised by renewables. This is just one part of our ambitious decarbonisation programme, which includes the creation of a publicly-owned, clean energy company, the implementation of a rigorous energy efficiency system, replacing 100% of the borough’s street lighting with L.E.D bulbs, decarbonising our council vehicle fleet, improving the thermal efficiency of council housing, using the planning process to promote low carbon materials and innovative construction practices, and by heavily investing in tree and green infrastructure planting across the borough.”
Last year’s 1.5C report from the IPCC stated that the next few years are probably the most important in our history. Hackney Council is acting now to ensure the limited time we have isn’t wasted.
Hackney Council purchases energy directly from the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) who buy energy on the wholesale market by pooling demand across Central Governmental bodies and Local Councils. However, this system is subject to constraints. The Council therefore decided, in the short term, to mandate CCS’ suppliers to secure a minimum of 50% of electricity from renewable sources. Meanwhile, a plan to secure even greater amounts of value for money clean energy, by working with London local authorities is being developed.