Again, thanks to The Lynn News for the space afforded. We get half a page, monthly to talk about the rise of renewables. I try to keep it local for obvious reasons, but it does allow me to demonstrate how renewables can touch every part of our lives, like oil used to. In the olden days.
This Months article was inspired by a conversation with a new client who owns an engineering company that supplies machinery to the food processing world.
Whilst it’s local, as are all the companies named (they’re our clients), this story is being replicated across the UK with #Solarnation installers.
We are, a Climate Army, you are the Home Guard and it’s our job to equip you with the tools to help us reach Drawdown, and beyond.
View from a Shed, June 2021
The fields of West Norfolk and The Fens as a whole provide so much food that the nation would starve were it to be reclaimed by the sea. That’s what’s on the table when we talk about how climate change could affect us.
We are on the front line.
Personally, after witnessing close up the sterling work of the Environment Agency and various drainage boards in recent years, I’m not as concerned as I would be, considering we’re at or below sea level for miles around! Remarkable feat of engineering is the drainage of The Fens and the Great Ouse catchment area.
And those fields that do grow the food, which in turn is then harvested, processed, packaged and sent out all over the UK all has a massive environmental impact so thought I use this months column to explain how King’s Lynn is greening up the food supply chain, not just locally, but for the Nation and possible as a showcase to the World.
On the industrial estates of King’s Lynn there are factories that manufacture machines for the processing plants. Control systems, cooling systems, conveyor belt manufacturers, steel fabricators and engineering companies that keep the production lines going so we can pop down the shop and pick up whatever we fancy for dinner tonight! It’s our factories that keep us fed just as much as the farmers that produce the crops. And all that uses carbon. Lots and lots of carbon.
Now if you go onto Google Earth, you’ll see local farm buildings where they process the initial crop with solar covered roofs. Head for the North Lynn Industrial Estate, you’ll see Dodmans Engineering, Eurotech Precision Engineering and a few other large roofs covered in solar panels. Head south to Hardwick Narrows, Optima Metal Services, King’s Lynns first big solar roof, R&L Engineering, Vulcatech Belting and others. All of these companies are in the food supply chain somewhere along the line.
And then the food is delivered to companies such as Barsby Produce who then deliver food to people who sell it to us, cook it for us, deliver it to us.
All of these factories and food producers are covered in solar panels. The food we eat not only grows under the Sun, it is processed and packaged and delivered, powered by the Sun.
And on a weekend when these factories and buildings close down for a day or two, the energy they produce goes into the local grid, feeding our houses. Hundreds and hundreds of houses in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, being powered by energy that is surplus to requirements on the big roofs of King’s Lynn.
So when you see Greta and Mr Attenborough as well as every celebrity and politician all claiming to be leading the fight against climate change, just remember the real climate heroes and champions of this world. The Advanced Engineers and food producers of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.
I see their roof tops as the front line in our Nation’s defence against the impacts of Climate Change and solar owners as our Home Guard in the greatest fight humanity has ever faced.
We are, essentially, a Climate Army.
As the World turns its attention to the UK for this years Climate Conference, entitled COP26, in Glasgow, I’d like to think our little ancient sea faring Town that has played such an important role in shaping the World through exploration, navigation and Trade over hundreds of years, can also be seen as a shining light and on the front foot in the fight against Climate Change.
This Town proves it to me every single day, I say it’s time to shout it from our solar-power roof tops that King’s Lynn is leading the fight, leading the way and showing the World that there is another way.
All we need now is more people to pick the stuff or it wont even reach our tables!