We welcomed the recent news of the government’s measures to alleviate the immediate cost of energy on people and businesses. Inflated gas prices driving up costs across the country while the largest energy producers deliver super-profits is outrageous and nonsensical.
However, from this moment of crisis, there is also an emerging moment of opportunity.
The energy price hikes have exposed our overreliance on overseas fossil fuels and a model that helps large energy producers drive astronomical profit while the end customers are left struggling with unmanageable costs.
It has never been clearer that the UK needs a complete overhaul of its energy infrastructure strategy, and with her announcement last week, the PM has set this in motion.
Everyone has a part to play in making this happen. We need major government investment into the renewable energy generation sector.
Businesses, too, must invest in the market – all of Moda’s neighbourhoods are run on 100% renewable energy, which, because we buy this in bulk, is allowing
us to pass on an average saving of 20% to our residents’ utility bills and lock their prices in for 12 months at a time.
We also need to see significant changes in the planning process for renewable energy projects. Planning refusals for solar farms are at their highest-ever level in the UK, with local residents and councillors fighting against schemes for their own personal or political benefit. The media storm around the cost-of-living crisis could provide an opportunity to educate and shift attitudes around sustainable power sources.
Our immediate priority is protecting our team and residents from the crisis, but now is also the time to think about how we can seize this moment as a turning point for renewable energy in the UK, and to kickstart wider development of UK-based renewables that will generate cheap power and energy security well into the future.
Dan Brooks, director, Moda Living
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