The huge untapped rooftop solar power potential we have here in Eastbourne was clear to see when I climbed up onto a roof at Lottbridge Drove Retail Park last week
I found myself surveying the area as part of Apprenticeship Week where I met with Matt Woodward who trained with local renewable company OHM Energy.
I got the chance to see work on a 50kwh solar installation – a job that takes roughly two weeks to complete. It was fascinating and my vantage point on Jarvis Manufacturing’s roof brought home to me the many rooftops we could use to power our town – one of the sunniest in Britain. I will be knocking on the doors of neighbouring businesses in the weeks to come.
Putin’s war in Ukraine has put our energy security into sharp focus. Innovations, like placing solar power on rooftops in Eastbourne, need to be seriously considered.
How we ramp up the rollout of solar at scale is a national challenge but one that OMH is also engaged in through their partnership with East Sussex College. The government-funded multi-million-pound training hub at Hampden Retail Park which opened just last year will be key to developing the workforce we need.
But back to Apprenticeship Week. OHM was clear about how beneficial it had found this route to be – something Matt was happy to reinforce - and how apprenticeships had opened doors to success for the young people they had worked with.
I know from my work on the Education Select Committee that we still have a way to go to bring parity of esteem between vocational routes and the academic, but the opportunities out there speak for themselves.
With a visit to Langney Primary’s Careers Day last week too, it was a case of back to the future as I was formerly a governor at the school. It was inspiring to see the children so engaged and energised, full of plans and ideas. I saw tomorrow’s medics and musicians, teachers and chefs in the assembly before me. I challenged them to find the future MP in their midst!
