Energy views sought

7:03am Thu Feb 17, 2011

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The first steps are being taken towards making Southwell a greener place to live.

Synergy Southwell, a group set up by Southwell Area Transition Group, has launched a survey to find out what residents think about renewable energy in the town.

The project, which will be led by the community, hopes to invest in renewable energy generation, energy conservation and energy reduction schemes.

A member of the transition group, Mr Steve Krupa said: “We are hoping Southwell will show it’s a progressive town and will support renewable energy schemes.”

Mr Krupa said a range of methods of generating renewable energy was being considered.

He said: “One possibility is solar panels — putting them on the schools definitely could be considered — a wind turbine is another option and also looking at hydroelectric power, although there aren’t a lot of options for that around here unless you look at putting something out of the town on the Trent or harnessing the Greet.

“We are open to all sorts of suggestions about what we could do and are hoping to tap in to the inventive minds of the people here.”

Mr Krupa said 35 people had completed the survey in its first few days and more than 50 had logged on to the group’s website.

Any scheme put in place could generate money through the Government’s Feed-in Tariffs.

Synergy Southwell’s survey is available online at http:// tinyurl.com/4d8hzvl and paper copies will be distributed in Southwell.

Paper copies can be handed in at Southwell Town Council office, the library, or Tourist Information Office at the Minster centre.