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UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
National Trust enters renewable energy trading business
A hydro-electric scheme installed at the National Trust’s Hafod y Llan farm in Snowdonia, Wales, has become the charity’s first large-scale renewables project. The scheme will also be the first to sell electricity through a new trading company, called National Trust (Renewable Energy) Ltd. The money raised from this will be ploughed back into conservation projects, such as footpath repairs and habitat management.
The hydro is expected to generate 1,900 MWh per year, more electricity than is needed to light up all of the National Trust places in Wales, including eight mansions, three castles and around 45 holiday cottages. The power produced will therefore be sold via the grid to green electricity supplier, Good Energy, which is also the Trust’s energy partner.
Patrick Begg, Rural Enterprises Director at the National Trust, said: ‘We’re lucky to be blessed with an abundance of natural resources that we look after for the benefit of the nation. Now with this new trading company we can harness some of the power generated by nature to help fund our conservation work.’
The National Trust already has more than 250 small and medium-scale renewable energy schemes across England and Wales, including biomass, solar and hydro technology. The Trust plans, in conjunction with Good Energy, to provide clean energy to 43 of its historic properties. It is hoped that this programme will help the charity to generate half of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and halve fossil fuel use in the same period. The Trust hopes eventually to save an estimated £4mn from its energy bill each year.
