Ambition to protect county from volatile oil and gas prices
There is ambition to protect Gloucestershire from the volatile price of gas and oil by setting up community-owned solar and wind farms.
Civic chiefs agreed to ask the county’s climate leaders to set up a cross-party task group to look into the issue.
They will explore the feasibility of rapidly expanding public and community-owned renewable energy generation and identify publicly owned land suitable for such projects.
The focus will be areas with strong wind potential, good solar exposure, proximity to grid connections and closeness to population centres.
The group will also look at the different ownership and financing options which benefit local residents.
This could be in the form of sites fully owned and managed by Gloucestershire County Council or joint ventures with experienced renewable energy organisations.
Other options include building and management by an external organisation with the County Council receiving a defined share of revenues or community ownership built into one or more of the options above.
Green Party Councillor Ian Cameron (Prestbury and Swindon), who put forward the motion, said the county was “letting opportunity blow by with the wind”.
He said the global fossil fuel markets are increasingly unstable due to geopolitical conflict and have driven up prices “again and again”.
As of March 25, Brent crude oil prices are highly volatile, trading at around $100 per barrel due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
While natural gas prices skyrocketed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and remain high.
“Every time there are gales in the weather forecast, I can’t help but think of all the free energy just blowing past us, quite literally,” he said.
“Britain is a windy country, Scotland has been called the Saudi Arabia of wind.
“And while Gloucestershire’s wind potential might not be so dramatic, our mellower breezes and long sunny days are more than enough to make onshore wind and solar a serious economic opportunity not just an environmentally necessity.”
The proposal, was seconded by Cllr Richard Dean (G, Dursley) and were amended and supported by the Liberal Democrats along with Labour and Independent councillors while the Conservatives were split three ways, voing in favour, against and abstaining.
Reform UK councillors voted against the proposals. Their group leader Vernon Smith (Tewkesbury West) said the council “needed to think practical”.
He suggested instead that the country continue to extract oil from the North Sea and increase capacity.
“Also, Reform would end all green subsidies on renewable solar panels and windmills,” he said.
The motion was passed with 37 votes in favour 11 against and there were three abstentions.