UK's National Trust to spend GBP 30m on renewables

The UK’s National Trust intends to invest some GBP 30 million (USD 46.7m/EUR 42.2m) in green projects on its land so that it would be able to meet half of its energy needs from renewables by 2020.

The conservation charity said on Monday it will invest in over 40 projects that will heat and power more of its historic places. These include a 200-kW lake source heating project at Blickling Estate in Norfolk and two biomass boiler installations at Upton House in Warwickshire. Also, it will implement a 250-kW hydro scheme at Hayeswater in Cumbria.

Together, the green projects could help save up to GBP 4 million in energy costs annually, the charity estimates. It expects to sell some of the generated electricity to the grid.

The National Trust previously spent GBP 3.5 million on five pilot renewable energy projects that were realised on its properties in a partnership with Good Energy Group Plc (LON:GOOD). One of them involved the installation of a biomass boiler at Ickworth in Suffolk that was officially completed today.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.557/EUR 1.406)

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