Rail freight proposal fails on environmental technologies
Press Release :
8 December 2009
During a Parliamentary debate on the Energy Bill yesterday, Anne Main, MP for St Albans, took the opportunity to raise concerns about the lack of environmentally-friendly provisions in HelioSlough’s rail freight proposal.
As a result of Anne’s intervention, it emerged that Germany, France, Japan, Spain, Norway, America and Korea all outperform the UK on solar photovoltaic installation (solar panels), which could be applied to the Rail Freight scheme, but are not planned under the current proposal.
During the debate, Anne said:
“It is claimed that a rail freight development is a green initiative. However, although the plans provide for aesthetic improvements to the surrounding area, there is little foresight about energy use and environmental impact…
There are no plans for the solar energy generation that my hon. Friend just mentioned. There are no plans for water recycling and no microgeneration provisions for the site. It is a scandal and a huge wasted opportunity.”
Upon leaving the chamber, Anne said:
“I felt it was important to demonstrate the greenwash which HelioSlough are applying to their scheme. They are constantly telling us that this is a green proposal, but yet they have made very little provision to actually use green technologies. In light of this week’s events in Copenhagen this is particularly important.
Large industrial sites use a great deal of energy, and it is vital that new proposals include appropriate green provisions to ensure that every possible attempt is made to reduce the carbon emissions they produce. If they are not, any proposals should be rejected until more environmentally-friendly measures are included.
I have seen no evidence that HelioSlough are committed to any such provisions and I think that any claim that they are is pure greenwash.”
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