City of London commits to 100% renewable energy

The City of London Corporation has announced plans to source 100 percent of its electricity from renewables.

The corporation is the governing body for London’s historic financial district, called the Square Mile, and is separately a major property owner. Its holdings include social housing in six London boroughs, 10 schools, three markets and 11,000 acres of green space across the whole city.

Catherine McGuinness, Chairman of the corporation’s policy and resources committee, said: “This is a big step for the City Corporation and it demonstrates our commitment to making us a more socially and environmentally responsible business.”

“Sourcing 100% renewable energy will make us cleaner and greener, reducing our grid reliance and running some of our buildings on zero carbon electricity.

The new commitment will see the body add to its existing renewable portfolio; it already uses clean energy at Parliament Hill Lido on Hampstead Heath and at The Warren in Epping Forest. It intends to build more solar and wind farms on its land, but also invest in off-site renewables and purchase renewable electricity already on the market.

“We are always looking at the environmental impact of our work and hope that we can be a beacon to other organisations to follow suit. By generating our own electricity and investing in renewables, we are doing our bit to help meet international and national energy targets,” she added.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has vowed to make the capital a zero-carbon city by 2050, with renewables playing a lead role. Over the next decade, the Mayor hopes to increase London’s solar capacity by 20 times, reaching 1 gigawatt by 2030 and then 2 gigawatts by 2050. The initiative forms part of a wider Energy for Londoners programme, which will invest £34 million into making homes and workplaces across the capital cleaner and more energy efficient.

 

Photo Credit: Michael Garnett/CC