An inquiry will look into how well Brighton and Hove is making use of renewable energy.
Three members of Brighton and Hove City Council have formed a scrutiny panel to be chaired by Sussex University academic Dr Adrian Smith.
The councillors on the panel are Pete West (Green, St Peter’s and North Laine), Warren Morgan (Labour, East Brighton) and David Watkins (Lib Dem, Brunswick and Adelaide).
Dr Smith, a senior research fellow at the Falmer-based university’s Sussex Energy Group, said: “This panel is a great opportunity to review progress in the city on renewable energy.
“We hope to learn more about where renewable energy is working well for the city.
“But at the same time we need to see where there is room for improvement, including learning from innovative approaches in other cities.
“There are many opportunities in renewable energy at the moment.
“We need to make sure people can make the most of this situation now and bring economic benefits, energy security and sustainability to the city.”
The panel’s first public meeting is being held on Monday (6 December) and will take evidence from
- Councillor Ayas Fallon-Khan, the council’s cabinet member for enterprise, employment and major projects
- Patrick Allcorn from the Department of Energy and Climate Change
- David Payne from Cissbury Consulting
- Geoff Raw, the council’s strategic director, place
- Will Cottrell from the Brighton Energy Co-op
There will be a further three public meetings of the panel in the new year.
It is expected to make its recommendations in the early summer of next year.
Anyone wishing to provide evidence to the panel should email the scrutiny team at scrutiny@brighton-hove.gov.uk, call 01273 291084 or write to Renewable Energy Potential, Overview and Scrutiny, Brighton and Hove City Council, King’s House, Grand Avenue, Hove, BN3 2SR.
After a few days of the coldest weather for sometime when we are using more energy, there has been no wind and no sun. When are people going to wake up the fact that renwable energy is not the answer to our problems? Even if we had wind and sun it is just too expensive compared to other sources of energy.