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GLOBAL RENEWABLES ONLINE - FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012
GRO: Why is it so important for
you to advocate on behalf of your
communities and their growth into
a green economy?
Laura Sandys: I’m really
committed to advocating our
adaptation to this new, renew-
able, exciting type of energy.
GRO: What are the challenges in
the region? Has there been
resistance thus far to your ideas?
LS: There is only resistance to
the amount of money that is
being directed towards renew-
ables—there tends to be negative
feelings
from
corporations
focused on fossil fuels because
funds are being directed toward
renewable energy like never
before.
However, in our region, there
is an acceptance that there will
be a renewables sector and we
have tight targets to meet. And a
lot of the energy companies we
see now are multi-generators—
they have gas, coal, and
renewables in their portfolios.
Part of the reason we don’t see
a lot or resistance is that off our
coastline are two of the largest
wind farms in the world—natu-
rally we see ourselves as a hub
for renewables.
GRO: Clearly there is a lot of
potential for your vision then?
LS: This is an exciting new way
of looking at the economy. There
is a high level of deprivation in
Thanet, and we have had to ask
ourselves: when it comes to
improving our quality of life, do
we want to develop a carbon
intensive economy or create a
new economic paradigm that
revolves around a green future?
We have the skills, and the
natural resource (the wildest
winds in the UK), and already
have the lowest carbon footprint
in the UK. So we are the perfect
place to do a pilot project of a
new economy.
Laura’s vision entails the Isle
of
Thanet
and
Sandwich
“
We want to develop
skills that could be used
in the renewable sector
but also can be
extremely transferable.”
PROJECT FOCUS - THANET OFFSHORE WIND FARM