Top adviser visits green energy project on Isle of Wight
A Former Special Adviser to the Irish Government, under Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, has visited the Isle if Wight to see how social housing tenants there are generating clean energy.
Paddy Duffy, who was also Speech Writer to Bertie Ahern, saw how green services provider Eaga is working with South Wight Housing Association (SWHA) to provide hundreds of households with free solar photo-voltaic (PV) systems.
Mr Duffy visited the Chale Community Project, which was selected as one of only 10 projects in the UK to receive funding to become a low carbon community.
Tenants Mr and Mrs Clark, who now have solar PV and an air source heat pump, told Mr Duffy their weekly fuel bills had fallen from around £38 to nearer £10 as a result of using renewable energy.
Through its Clean Energy Programme, Eaga has now installed PV systems for more than 100 South Wight tenants. The programme utilises the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) initiative, launched earlier this year to provide an income from surplus electricity generated domestically. The revenue from the FIT allows Eaga to work with social housing providers to install the systems at no cost to the tenant or the landlord.
Solar technology can typically provide around 36% of an average home’s electricity needs and cut annual carbon emissions by up to 1.2 tonnes. It can also save money on fuel bills.
Meeting some of the residents, Mr Duffy said: “This is clearly a very popular programme which is bringing genuine cost saving and environmental benefits. I was especially impressed by the enthusiasm of all the households I met and I’m sure the example here can be repeated elsewhere.”
John Swinney, Eaga Director of Strategy, added: “For low carbon living to be real this type of technology must be affordable for all, and South Wight Housing Association is leading the way in making this happen for its tenants. I’m delighted that Mr Duffy has taken the time to come and see for himself the success here on the Isle of Wight.
“Across the country we are now working with upwards of 12 social housing providers and will look to provide the service for hundreds of thousands of households on a scale not seen before.”
Margaret Wright, Executive Director at South Wight Housing Association, said: “Eaga is installing 67 air source heat pumps in homes in Chale Green. This is understood to be one of the largest community-based air source heat pump installations in the UK, and is another example of making renewable energy accessible for all. Part of the funding for this project has come from the Ellen McArthur Foundation.
“Our residents have wholeheartedly embraced the new technology, which will provide them with lower running costs in their homes. Chale Green has a strong community spirit and I am sure this will be only the start on innovation in the village.”
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Notes to Editors
- Eaga is a green support services and outsourcing company and a leader in the provision of outsourced services, products and solutions that address the environmental and social objectives of Government and the private sector. Eaga’s key market drivers are centred on climate change and social inclusion.
- Eaga is the UK’s largest residential energy efficiency provider. Working in partnership with central and local Government, utility companies and other commercial organisations, eaga operates across the UK and in the republic of Ireland, India and Canada, employing around 5,000 people.
- Eaga was established in 1990 as a private limited company to lead Government-funded efforts to improve the living conditions of vulnerable people living in cold, damp and energy inefficient homes across England. In 2000, the company was restructured to become a 100% employee-owned business.
South Wight Housing Asscociation Ltd
South Wight Housing Association Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southern Housing Group and joined the Group in 2002. It is the largest provider of housing on the Isle of Wight, owning and managing 3,000 properties. As a result of the Group’s Housing and Communities Agency Preferred Programme Partner status, SWHA is also a major developer of affordable housing on the Island.