Preston Council wants its own power

Preston Council is planning to become self-reliant for its power requirement. The Council wants have its own electrical power so that it is able to reduce carbon emissions and electricity bills for its residents and businesses. It has unanimously passed a resolution to check the feasibility of a council-owned firm which is “carbon neutral” and could supply electricity to homes and businesses.

Preston is following the example of Woking in Surrey. The Woking’s council is currently supplying electrical power from its eighteen mini-power stations to social homes. But Preston’s is planning it big by way of being able to meet the energy requirement of whole of Preston.

Some of Woking’s power stations are running on natural gas while others are using solar power to supply locally-generated heat to homes and businesses.

It has resulted in 48.6% cut-down in energy consumption between 1991 and 2004 for the town.  CO2 emissions were slashed by 77.4% and also resulted in saving £5.4m in water bills.

The council is also planning to take the lead in going green. Its other proposals include installation of solar panels on the roof of town hall. It wants to improve the insulation of council buildings and use renewable energy sources to meet the power requirement of council buildings. It has also proposed to work with environmental representatives of trade unions on helping to implement green targets. There is no doubt that these schemes will cost millions of pounds to implement, but eventually it will bring huge saving by way of cash as well as protect the environment.