Leicester County Council joins clean energy pledge

Leicester County Council is set to join Leicester City Council and commit to using 100 per cent clean energy by 2050, joining more than 80 local authorities across the country with similar ambitions.

If the council cabinet approves committing to the scheme, the county council will become a signatory to the UK100 campaign, ensuring that its energy will come from renewable sources such as wind, water and solar power and not from fossil fuels.

The council is already pursuing a number of clean energy plans, which has seen a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in 2016/17 by 37 per cent against the 2008/09 target, as well as street lighting energy consumption decreasing by 24.7 per cent as a result of replacing them with energy-saving LEDs.

Nick Ruston, council leader, said: “Climate change is an issue globally and we have a responsibility to ensure that we do all that we can to tackle the problem. Pledging our support to the campaign will mean we can work with communities and businesses in the county to change to a low carbon economy, which will help to secure an environmentally sustainable future. Through the Local Industrial Strategy and our pledge to UK100 we’ll have the opportunity to support the development and expansion of low carbon businesses and make clean energy more economical and reliable.”