The sun is out in Eastbourne and this has always meant revenue for our town as the visitors come to take in the sites and the natural beauty of our coastline.
But increasingly the sun also means power as we look to optimise solar energy generation across the town to keep costs down, move to more sustainable energy sources and give us energy security too.
I have been campaigning for more solar power on rooftops in Eastbourne – one of Britain’s sunniest towns - and government investment could now follow. Last week, it announced a new £10 million fund to help communities develop local renewable energy projects. The Community Energy Fund will open in early Autumn.
I am really pleased to see the government looking to fund just the sort of projects that could lead to more solar energy in our town, and I stand ready to support any bids.
Already significant progress on solar is here. Our DGH has its own ‘rooftop’ solar array from this summer in the form of a canopy over the staff car park. It has the potential to power up to 40% of the hospital’s energy needs.
But this new funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will help to kickstart smaller scale projects including small-scale wind farms and, of course, rooftop solar partnerships, as well as battery storage, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging points, and fuel poverty alleviation schemes - all proposed, designed and owned by local people. This is exactly what we – me, OHM, the Chamber of Commerce and the Council were speaking of just last month at our energy event for businesses.
I hope this government fund will also act as a catalyst for attracting important private investment to scale up projects further down the line to support high-quality jobs and growth.
So with the sun shining as I write, I am really looking forward to Airbourne – a spectacle that puts us on the international map as a top destination and had an estimated economic benefit of £27 million last year. Tourism underpins more than 1 in 4 local jobs.
Not universally I know (!) but it is also much loved by local people. After thirty years, the council says a question still hangs over its future. I will campaign to keep Airbourne flying.
