Devon scheme leads UK’s green energy drive.
Devon County Council has been announced as runners up at the world s leading Green Energy Awards and awarded �15,000 in prize money Representatives from Devon County Council met HRH Prince Charles to receive the accolade at the prestigious Ashden Awards
Devon County Council has been announced as runners up at the world's leading Green Energy Awards and awarded �15,000 in prize money
Representatives from Devon County Council met HRH Prince Charles to receive the accolade at the prestigious Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy in London on Thursday June 11th.
The award was given to Devon County Council's Renewable Energy for Devon (RE4D) scheme which is boosting green rural regeneration in Devon by stimulating both supply and demand for renewable energy. The �15,000 will be used for scheme improvement and expansion.
The scheme has led to 109 renewable energy installations in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and community organisations, and a further 18 in domestic properties. These have a total installed capacity of over 2 MW, avoiding around 1,300 tonnes/year of CO2 emissions.
RE4D has provided �0.25m in grants and helped secure �0.81m of other funding. Fifty-five jobs have been created and a further 16 safeguarded through the scheme.
The Ashden Awards judges commented:
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"Devon is rooting renewable energy firmly in the economic realm, and showing that green measures contribute to sustainable business - a particularly important message in the current economic climate."
Sarah Butler-Sloss, founder and chair of the Ashden Awards said:
"The UK's local authorities have the potential to fast-track energy savings and carbon reductions on a massive scale, and this scheme shows how political commitment and imagination can drive the agenda forward.
