Green Electricity

1.01.00am GMT Mon 19th Mar 2007

Leicester City Council has already cut its 1990 levels of carbon emissions by 25%

The Lib Dem led city council is saving money as well as saving the planet thanks to a deal it's made on buying 'green' electricity.

Council leader Roger Blackmore said: "Every street-light and illuminated traffic sign in Leicester is powered with electricity from renewable sources, such as wind turbines.

"We've been buying green energy for the last seven years or so, and have recently joined forces with four other councils to bulk-buy lighting energy. We are also looking at signing up a further four councils, which would put the city in an even stronger position to get the best possible deal".

The council spends around £1 million a year on power for its street lights. The three-month deal that's just been negotiated will see the price paid cut by half.

The council's head of lighting Clive Roberts said: "Energy prices fluctuate so much that big commercial users have to negotiate their contracts in such a way that they are flexible enough to allow users to take advantage of any reductions in price. By joining up with other councils, we're in a stronger position to keep getting better deals".

Leicester City Council has already cut its 1990 levels of carbon emissions by 25%, but its aim is to reduce those levels by 50% by 2025.

The council has adopted a Climate Change Action Plan, which sets out 24 steps that will help it achieve that target, and reduce the 54,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions the council is directly responsible for each year.