Vision 2030
By 2030, the relationship that Totnes has to energy has undergone a transformation. Over the 20 years of this plan, the area successfully reduced its energy consumption by 50%, and installed the capacity to generate the other 50% from number of different renewable technologies. One of the keys to this was the setting up in 2009 of the Totnes Renewable Energy Society. This proved to be a powerful driver in the installation of large-scale renewables, as it invited the community to invest in them, and to share in the return. Renewable energy became not only something people wanted for environmental and energy security reasons, but also because they accrued a financial return from them. What cars and other vehicles there are in Totnes now are powered either by bio-methane or electricity, and every south-facing surface is now clad in solar panels. The two wind turbines installed close to Totnes are now a source of great pride to the town, and the money they generate has made a significant contribution to funding the establishment of many of the new businesses vital to the localisation of the local economy.
“It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change”
Charles Darwin
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