The Environment
Agency’s biggest solar power project, at
the Scots Float depot in Rye, East Sussex
is about to start selling energy to the
national grid.
The Environment Agency’s
biggest solar power project, at the Scots
Float depot in Rye, East Sussex is about
to start selling energy to the national
grid. The scheme, which is in the top 10
solar power projects in the country, has
been up and running since April. It has
already generated enough energy to power
7-8 homes for a whole year.
There are 200 photovoltaic
(PV) panels on the roof of the Environment
Agency depot collecting sunlight and turning
it into electrical energy.
At the same time as
installing the renewable energy, the Environment
Agency has worked with staff in the Scots
Float office to reduce energy consumption.
Since April, energy use has dropped by 50
per cent. This means that the office now
generates all its own energy and at evenings
and weekends is generating excess energy
that can be sold to the national grid.
Nick Berry, Regional
Environment Management Advisor for the Environment
Agency is the south said:
“We are determined to
set an example to other businesses when
it comes to reducing energy consumption
and increasing energy generation. This scheme
at Scots Float is one of the biggest in
the country. It is able to generate up to
50Kw of energy an hour.
“Now that we are generating
more energy than we need, we can start selling
some back to the national grid and use the
money to invest in more renewable energy
for our other buildings. Our aim is to reduce
our energy use by 30 per cent over the next
three years.”
The scheme cost £200,000.
Half of the funding came from the Low Carbon
Building Programme.
+ More
Environment Agency working
to tackle Swale smells
Environment Agency officers
are on site and working with landowners
to tackle the latest in a line of bad smells
to affect people in Swale in the last month.
Environment Agency officers
are on site and working with landowners
to tackle the latest in a line of bad smells
to affect people in Swale in the last month.
The Environment Agency has received more
than 70 phone calls today from members of
the public complaining about another smell.
When the first calls
came in, Environment Agency officers visited
the area and traced the smell to a farmers
field just south of the M2. The landowner
has been spreading paper sludge, which is
the cause of the smell.
The Environment Agency
is working with the farmer and contractors
about how to reduce the smell as quickly
and effectively as possible. Initially,
they have been asked to spread an odour
suppressant (potassium permanganate) over
the field to reduce the smell. This should
improve the situation by the morning. If
the smell is still causing a problem, the
farmer and contractors will have to plough
the paper sludge further into the field.
Paper sludge is one
of a number of wastes that are spread onto
land for agricultural benefit or ecological
improvement. It is a by-product of the paper
making industry and the sludge adds lime
and organic matter to the soil. Spreading
of paper sludge is licensed by the Environment
Agency under the Environmental Permitting
(England and Wales) Regulations 2007.
Alan Cansdale, Environment
Manager for the Environment Agency in North
Kent said:
“Local people have had
to put up with a series of bad smells in
the area over the last few months. We would
like to reassure them that we’re doing all
we can to find out the causes of the problems
and, where we can, do something about it.
Unfortunately, this seasonal spreading of
sludge has coincided with a period of very
still, muggy weather, which has made the
problem worse.
“Under normal circumstances,
spreading paper sludge and other materials
is a very good way of using waste materials
to benefit the environment.”
