Britain's countryside moving to zero-carbon power

Gloucester, Nov 19 With three-quarters of British land area in the agricultural sector, it is accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to clean power.

There's a big opportunity in around 1,92,000 farms in the UK, which is heavily reliant on natural gas, with solar and wind power going cheaper than fossil fuels.

As the power sector accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, 40 per cent of farmers in the UK are using the sun, wind and farm by-products to produce low-carbon energy despite implications of both Brexit and Covid-19.

The commonly opted renewable technologies on farms are solar Photovoltaic panels for electricity and biomass for heat generation.

As per official estimates, the energy produced in the rural areas generates at least 10 per cent of the UK's electricity needs.

Meet Indian-origin Harjit Singh Gill, who lives in a farmhouse in Birdwood in the countryside of Gloucester, the city famed for historical warehouses that stand as proud guard to Britain's most inland port.

"To meet the goals of the government for low-carbon heating systems, we have decided to move away from fossil fuels towards clean power. We have opted low-carbon electrically powered heat pumps to replace the oil-fired heating system," Gill, a three-time Mayor of Gloucester, told this visiting correspondent.

As per UK's energy white paper unveiled in December 2020, the government outlines the new heating installs to be low carbon by the mid-2030s.

For cutting emissions from heating it has rolled out a three-year plan to offer 5,000 pounds grants to help 90,000 households install low-carbon heating systems.

It is part of about 3.9bn pounds worth of funds to support low-emissions homes, including grants to support the replacement of gas boilers with cleaner technologies.

The UK is aiming to end the sale of fossil fuel boilers, which mainly use natural gas, by 2035 and replace them with low-carbon alternatives. It is part of the national plan to transform its power and heating systems to support the net zero target for 2050.

Gill, who moved to England in 1978 from his hometown Jalandhar in Punjab, India, at the age of 23 and became Gloucester's first Asian Mayor in 2007, told that his 150-year old wooden house needs heating more owing to lack of thermal insulation, specifically controlling heat flow and its loss.

"As heating oil prices are soaring in Britain and many suppliers have already notified of further rate hikes in the coming months, we have decided to opt clean power despite initial high installation cost," he said, adding "this technology is going to benefit households by saving money on energy bills".

In the vicinity of his farm, many farmers are using the sun, wind, farm by-products and energy crops to produce clean and low-carbon energy.

"I have installed two solar photovoltaic schemes and an energy management system to reduce on-site energy use by potato chillers," grower Philip Berg told .

He adds: "By using 60-65 per cent of the electricity generated from my systems, I am securing annual income and consume less fossil fuel saving huge energy costs, besides a more efficient and environmentally-friendly estate."

The electricity sector accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Experts attribute the solar farm boom to the phase out of agricultural subsidies, ending entirely by 2028 as per the UK government's post-Brexit plans.

For many farmers, this is a significant loss of income. The UK government says the money that was used for direct payments will instead be invested in new schemes supporting sustainable farming.

According to figures, a wind turbine produces 162 kWh per year while 144 solar panels produce 32 kWh per year. The investment in wind turbine costs 2,40,000 pounds and 77,000 pounds in solar

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