Micro-generation

Written by Kirsty Williams AM on Thu 25th Oct 2007

As the cold nights draw in, many of us are warming up by putting on the central heating with the easy flick of a switch. But it's not always that simple, a large number of vulnerable and often elderly people in our communities are without adequate heating systems or without the money to pay for fuel. Some people are surprised by the idea of fuel poverty in this country but it is a very real and important issue. Rural areas such as ours, with the many old stone cottages, have more than our fair share of homes that are hard to heat made worse by the fact that charges are ever increasing.

A number of my constituents are also being limited in the type of energy they can access, simply because they live in a rural area. Roger Williams and I have found that whole areas of B &R are being left without the opportunity to connect up to mains gas due to the shocking charges that are being quoted and other individuals are being given equally outrages quotes to connect to the electricity grid. One constituent was asked to pay more than £40,000 to connect his new home in East Radnorshire to the grid, merely 800 metres away. I am angered that companies are attempting to profiteer from rural people in this way and I have written to the regulator calling for this practice to be investigated.

Both of these problems could potentially be addressed by microgeneration which also has the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly. Microgeneration is the generation of zero or low-carbon heat and power and does not necessarily have to be small-scale energy production. The Energy Saving Trust's decentralising energy report, concludes that, by 2050, microgeneration could provide 30 to 40 % of the UK's total electricity needs and could help to reduce carbon emissions by 15 %. The Liberal Democrats would like to see a move away from a system that makes us reliant on the National Grid, and seek to decentralise power. Fortunately we are seeing a keen move by both individuals and whole communities towards microgeneration in the constituency. In Talybont we are seeing the harnessing of renewable energy sources such as water, wind and sun; similar action is happening in Talgarth with the Low Carbon Communities and in Crickhowell and Rhayader, where communities are moving to become transition towns.

My only concern is that such community groups and individuals should not be dominated by those who can afford the financial and time constraints of such an interest. The disadvantaged and elderly who face fuel poverty could benefit the most and should have the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from these sustainable alternatives.

In addition to financial resources, we need the provision of proper impartial advice to people who want to take steps in this direction. A number of constituents have fallen ill to unscrupulous sale reps selling them technologies, such as solar panels, which turn out to be unsuitable for their homes. Campaigners in Knighton have set a good example of what can be done to give people advice on how to reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs at the same time in a way that is tailored to individual's needs. Microgeneration might sound small, but it has a big part to play in the the energy agenda and tackling of fuel poverty.