YOU ARE HERE: BRICK DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION > LATEST NEWS > INVESTMENTS IN GREEN ENERGY PAY BACK IN 8 YEARS

INVESTMENTS IN GREEN ENERGY PAY BACK IN 8 YEARS

The BDA is committed to ensuring that our clay products conform to carbon emission targets, we have found that UK cities that invest in reducing carbon emissions will see a return on investment in four to eight years, while seeing their energy bills falling and thousands of new jobs created at the same time, a new study from the Centre for Low Carbon Futures claimed.

The research is based on data collected from the Leeds City Region – which includes Leeds, York, Harrogate and the whole of West Yorkshire. It concluded that the region could lower its carbon emissions by over 40% and its energy bill by £1.71bn per year, thanks to investments in energy efficiency and renewables across households, public and commercial buildings, industry and transport.

Implementing energy efficiency measures would cost about £13bn but estimates show that it would pay for itself in less than eight years, whereas the reduction in bills will last for as long as the measures are active.

In addition, the measures would have a beneficial effect on the local economy, as 10,000 new jobs will be created in the next decade and the GVA will grow by £442m annually.

Small-scale investments would also prove cost effective, the research notes, as the £5bn necessary to cover low carbon measures will pay pack the investment in a little over four years.

Jon Price, director of Centre for Low Carbon Futures, commented that the study shows investments in energy efficiency are not only possible but also reasonable for the economy.