HOW about these for worthwhile renewable energy statistics? Investing in learning skills and new job opportunities; strengthening our physical infrastructure to manage the extra workload produced by new workers and related changes.
Hearing them our villagers could expect a successful return to the local insulation and renewable energy work they explored about a decade ago. With Worcestershire CC, and Wychavon DC housing expertise supporting villager’s energy needs financially and technically.
Producing relieved villagers with buildings, no longer wasting almost a quarter of energy costs at this fraught energy time. Instead our society, having known for decades the urgency of eliminating fossil fuel extraction and usage by at worst 2050 and at best 2030, have adopted a rather cavalier, seemingly surreal, approach to serious sustainable zero carbon targets.
We failed to accept a commercial wind farm, just north of Evesham 12 years ago.
Onshore turbines still have negative national planning support. Local requirements for retrofitting old houses to heat source pump insulation standard are minimal.
Planning regulations requiring zero carbon, new build housing with solar power as standard, are still a fantasy.
Mains gas, oil and gas cylinders the heating of choice for most new builds. All this seems surreal but what about current ideas being pursued to ease the burden of our continued reliance on fossil fuels, compounded by currently inflated prices.
A proposed grant of £500,000 for moving fossil fuels by rail and water. £34 million creating new HGV Skills, training 11,000 new people to become English HGV drivers.
Plus £7,000 aid for trainees with a £3,000 incentive to employers. Suspension of HGV excise duty and road user levy until 2023.
Investing £32.5million in roadside facilities for HGV drivers, such as showers, toilets and eating areas.
Local authority infrastructure owners compensated for additional road wear costs, due to an increased weight allowance of selected HGV fuel carriers.
All these expenses to create jobs and structures we know will have to go within the next decade.
All because of our failure since 2010 to create the known low carbon structures needed instead. Now that’s really surreal.
Mike Parker, chair of SeSaME writes for the Observer
