Council switches to lights powered by ‘green energy’
COUNCIL buildings, street lights and schools in Kirklees will use “green energy” until April 2023 after the local authority switched its corporate electricity supply contract.
And the council aims to do so again when the new contract expires to help contribute to its pledge to be carbon neutral by 2038.
There are more than 100 counciloperated buildings in the borough and more than 180 schools.
The switch to green electricity in Kirklees - which means that the council’s electricity supplies will be generated entirely from renewable sources such as wind farms and solar panels - follows the council’s declaration in 2019 of a climate emergency.
Carbon usage in the district could fall by around 17, 250 tonnes - enough CO2 to fill 3,450 hot air balloons.
The authority is now encouraging residents to follow suit and investigate how they can cut the production of greenhouse gases, such as by turning off lights in empty rooms, switching to energy-saving light bulbs, turning appliances off standby and washing clothes at 30 degrees.
Local people are also urged to consider switching to a green energy tariff.
Leader of Kirklees Council, Clr Shabir Pandor, said the authority was “committed to leading by example”.
He said: “Selecting a green tariff for the council’s energy usage is an essential step in our pledge to help save the planet.”
His colleague Clr Naheed Mather, the council’s Cabinet Member for Greener Kirklees, added: “Whilst the change to green energy does slightly increase the cost per kilowatt, I strongly believe that the cost of not changing on the planet outweighs this.”