Lightsource Welcomes Earth Hour

Europe’s leading developer and operator of solar projects, welcomes the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) initiative to raise awareness of global climate change and the measures that can be taken to reduce the rate at which this happens.

Nick Boyle, Chief Executive of Lightsource, comments: “At COP21 in Paris last December, governments from across the world pledged their support to addressing climate change in a significant step towards committing to a cleaner future for energy and restoring global investor confidence in alternatives to fossil fuels.

“Though it is encouraging to see the latest figures from the (International Energy Agency) IEA stating global emissions are stalling, there is still much to do if we are to fully reverse the trend and stop the lasting effects of climate change in their tracks. This is why initiatives like Earth Hour are so important in raising awareness around the world; encouraging simple changes in behaviour or energy consumption can make a big difference in the long-run.

“Renewable energy plays a huge role in addressing climate change, whether generated by solar, wind or any other technology. As awareness of alternatives to traditional provision of energy increase, so does the appetite for them and the IEA figures are evidence of that. However, far more remains to be done in the UK to reassure investors of this after last year’s policy changes, driven by short-term politics rather than longer-term energy policy. This needs to be improved for investor confidence to develop and for this exciting sector to continue its phenomenal growth.”

Images of solar projects available upon request and attached

5 key facts about solar energy

• The average size of a solar farm in the UK is 5 megawatts or 19,250 panels
• This is the equivalent of taking 517 cars off the road in terms of carbon savings per year…
• …or of powering the equivalent of 6,000 typical homes for a year
• The UK currently has enough solar to power the equivalent of  2.4 million homes
• The sun delivers 5,000 times more energy to the earth’s surface than humanity needs