11 June 2009
Renewable energy generated on public sector land and property could provide enough power for 1.5 million homes, according to the Environment Agency.
In collaboration with Partnership for Renewables, the organisation has calculated that public sector groups in the UK are capable of generating 3GW of power.
This would be enough to power all the homes in Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, Sheffield, Doncaster and Liverpool combined and would save three million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
Head of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the agency Tony Grayling believes that introducing such a renewable strategy would also save money on consumer energy bills.
He said: "The pressures businesses and the public sector are facing may tempt them to cut corners and spend less attention on environmental improvement programmes, but it is now more important than ever before that we look to alternative sources of energy to meet our demands."
Last year, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called for public sector bodies to take a lead role in curbing climate change and reducing carbon emissions in the UK.
Earlier this week, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee claimed that the government is failing consumers on fuel poverty.