Walsall Flats help meet demand for green power
10 March 2008
Caldmore Housing
Walsall flats help meet demand for green power
Solar panels save residents money; excess electricity fed back into grid to help meet demand for green power.
A group of five low-rise blocks of refurbished Caldmore Housing Association flats on the outskirts of Walsall is helping to create green electricity and save residents money. The flats at Newmore Gardens have been fitted with solar photovoltaic panels to generate electricity from the sun to light intelligent lighting in communal areas, saving residents money each year on their service charge, and in an innovative move, Caldmore is working with national supplier of 100% green electricity, green energy uk, to supply the excess electricity created by the panels into the national grid for other homes and businesses to use.
green energy uk founder and chief executive, Doug Stewart, says: “What’s great about the electricity created at this project is that it is from a totally renewable source, the sun, and therefore it is the best, most green form of electricity available. The surplus energy is not going to waste - it is being used by other people who want clean, green power. It makes a great deal of sense to install photovoltaic panels, and what’s great in the case of Caldmore is that the scale of the installation makes metering the export economic. So for us to be able to deliver this power when previously it might have gone to waste is tremendous news for everyone.”
Mark Bird of Walsall Housing Group, who worked in partnership with Caldmore and green energy uk on this project, explains, “The residents, most of whom are older people, benefit from this by paying a reduced service charge. The lighting is being paid for by the sun and this generates a credit against the electricity bill. The objective of this project has been to lessen the carbon footprint and save energy and residents money.”
green energy uk delivers a cocktail of 100% green electricity from a number of green sources. Some of these sources are unusual, like the farm which, through a method called anaerobic digestion, uses pig waste to create electricity, or the Waitrose tomato growers who create electricity in the process of growing tomatoes. green energy uk also source electricity from better known renewable sources like hydro, wind and solar power projects.
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Notes to editors
- The photovoltaic panels were fitted to the five blocks of flats as part of the refurbishment and they turn the sun’s energy into electricity. The electricity created is used to power lighting on the landing, stairs and building entrance and outdoor areas.
- The cost of installing the photovoltaic panels on the flats was £6000 per block, half of which was paid for by for by the Low Carbon Buildings scheme.
About green energy uk
Green energy uk is a young, Hertfordshire-based company which has grown substantially since it was established in 2001, and by 50% in the past year alone. It has a very unusual and radical business model: it is giving away half of its business in shares – the first 100,000 customers are getting 400 shares each. This not only gives them a potential stake in the future, but involves them in the business and its successes.
green energy uk facilitates investment in a wide range of technologies including small scale hydro, CHP, organic waste gasification, vegetable oil and pig waste. In fact, 70% of the generators who supply green energy uk were not in business when the company was formed. More information is available at www.greenenergy.uk.com
