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Cornwall Federation of Women’s Institutes: proactively tackling climate change....Cornwall’s Federation of Women’s Institutes takes climate change seriously and wanted to do some practical to help tackle it. One of the things they have done is to install solar photovoltaic panels on their new headquarters in Threemilestone. Why they are doing things to help the climate.... The Women’s Institute in Cornwall have always treated the environment as something to protect and look after. They wanted to do something because What they are doing.... Whilst on the executive committee of Cornwall’s Federation of Women’s Institutes, Jo Newman campaigned to get solar photovoltaic panels (PV) installed on their new building in Truro. They recently built the new headquarters for Cornwall and made sure it was designed in an environmentally and climate friendly way. They did this in terms of the materials and design used, and by considering ways to make the building reduce unnecessary emissions of carbon dioxide. Constructed from a timber frame, they used high levels of insulation to make sure the building was easy to heat and keep warm. They also planned the layout of windows to provide lots of light and passive solar heating. Finally they incorporated a PV array on the roof, which generates electricity from sun light. Why it’s important….. All buildings have an impact on the climate in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. These come from burning fossil fuels to provide heating, lighting and power for appliances. The WI has ensured that their new building reduces these emissions as much as possible. By:
All these measures dramatically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide the building puts into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas which causes climate change. Every tonne emitted into the atmosphere commits the world to more warming, but every tonne of emissions avoided, reduces the threat of climate change. The Cornwall Federation of WI’s is a great example of how this can be achieved when constructing a new building (or refurbishing an existing one). The solar array consists of seven The climate has already started to change – we must do everything we can to stop further changes, and adapt to the new situation we find ourselves in. Further information.... The Women’s Institute They received a grant from the Government to cover half the costs of the photovoltaic array and they received a £20,000 grant from Cornwall Environmental Trust. As well as their building, the Cornwall WI is also doing other things to help protect the climate and environment through the National Federation of Women’s Institutes. They presented a resolution at the 2006 national Annual General Meeting of the WI’s asking the Government to amend building regulations and planning rules to include the installation of PV panels on all new build, re-build and renovations. This resolution was passed by 95% of members. They are also part of Stop Climate Chaos which aims to build a massive coalition that will create a public mandate for political action to stop human-induced climate change. Find out more about what the WI is doing nationally on the environment from their campaign website. Solar Photovoltaic’s More information on PV is available from the Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership website. They also provide a list of accredited installers for all renewable energy technologies. For information on grants towards solar panels and other renewable energy technologies visit the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. Insulating Buildings Passive Solar Heating For more information on Passive Solar Design, Woking Borough Council has produced a design guide which is available here.
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they feel it is an important issue and climate change could have a huge impact in the Duchy. They want to make sure the environment isn’t damaged any more and recognise that we are only the caretakers of the planet for future generations. They have already noticed that the weather is changing, with winters becoming milder and much wetter, and the summers becoming hotter. They think Cornwall is a very special place and they want to do all they can to protect it.
panels that can produce up to five kilowatts of electricity directly from daylight, i.e. not just in sunny weather. They use the electricity in the building and all the surplus, for example when the building is not in use, is sold into the national grid, generating an income for the WI. Since they were installed the panels have generated 16,500 kWh of electricity, so far this has saved over 7 tonnes of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. Imagine what would be possible if we had solar panels on all the buildings in Cornwall?