While most of Britain has been focussed on Brexit, and the leadership contest in the Conservative party, many other news stories which ought to be receiving more attention are passing unnoticed. So the news today that more of our power is coming from zero carbon sources than fossil fuels (“Clean electricity overtaking fossil fuels in Britain” Roger Harrabin, BBC 21/6/2019) is not getting the attention that it deserves. Indeed, since it appeared on my newsfeed earlier today it has already been relegated from the main headline page to the science page.
At Easthall farm, we were happy to be a part of this, and have two solar panel arrays on barn roofs, with 91KW of power saving about 900 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. Barns provide large roof areas which could readily be covered in solar panels, often in more remote areas where they would be less noticeable. Ground-level installations are also common. For farmers, it provided a form of income diversification, another way of harvesting sunlight to make something useful for people. Many households also installed solar panels too. As Britain moves towards greener sources of energy, the combined effect of all the farms and households that together generate a significant impact on our energy sources, and so our environmental impact.
While there is no doubt that whatever happened regarding Brexit is going to have a significant bearing on our day to day lives over the next few years, and the choice of a new Conservative leader who will become our Prime Minister are important issues, it could also be argued that issues around energy choices, and the emergence of clean energy as a major source of our power is also important. Indeed, considering its potential impact on climate change, it could have a much more significant impact on our lives, and for a much longer time period.