Transition in Action, Totnes 2030, an Energy Descent Action Plan

2012

The carbon calculator built into Facebook, and automatically linked to one’s online payment of energy bills, means that lowering one’s carbon footprint becomes a matter of great personal pride. Research undertaken by the University of East Anglia shows that the lower one’s carbon footprint, the more trustworthy people think you are as a friend. People with very high carbon footprints tend to receive more ‘be my friend’ rejections on Facebook than those with lower footprints. The Sun’s alarmist take on this, suggesting that “’hello love, how big’s your carbon footprint?” will become a widely used chat-up line, fails to materialise. The nation breathes a sigh of relief.
Jumpers and thick socks are back in fashion as home heating costs rise.
Interest rises in domestic Micro hydro as rainfall increases and more generous feed-in tariffs make small mills more viable.

TRESOC’s feasibility study on anaerobic digestion concludes that the commercial food waste generated by the hotels, restaurants and other outlets, as well as waste from larger scale food industries, would be sufficient, when put through an Anaerobic Digester, to create bio-methane to power 35 buses, or 200 cars¹. They form a partnership with Stage Coach buses, and Bob the Bus, as well as with 2 local taxi firms, to explore the practicalities. Local biogas production and fuel refining creates much local skilled employment.
A community woodland plan “30% Tree Cover”, is drafted in conjunction with farmers and landowners to create additional woodlands and hedgerows for wood fuel, food production and biodiversity. SWW gets involved as a large landowner and funds the first phase of planting.
KEVICC sets up an experimental Algae pond to see if they can produce diesel for the school bus.

Totnes Town Council puts together a plan to make Transition more visible to enhance tourism and benefit their budget; they install PV panels on all the bus shelters and streetlights in the area, and install more bicycle racks around the town.
SWW announces new Anaerobic digesters will be installed at Moreleigh and South Brent to generate electricity from farm wastes. A combined heat and power scheme will be piloted in conjunction with 3 nearby houses at each plant.
The Government offer a small grant as an incentive to bring in all premises not yet rewired for Smart metering, saying that legislation to make this compulsory may follow if needed.

This already happens in Lille in France, where over 100 buses are powered using bio-methane made from waste food and sewage from the town [↩]