Fifty local power plants to cut waste of energy

UP to 50 electricity plants could be built across London over the next 30 years in an effort to cut carbon emissions.

A report published today recommends building plants near big energy users such as housing estates rather than relying on the National Grid in order to reduce the amount of energy lost through power travelling hundreds of miles along cables.

The Mayor's Climate Change Action Plan envisages 7.2 million tonnes of carbon savings from new measures.

Cutting the Capital's Carbon Footprint, produced for business lobby group London First, suggests how half of this can be saved by "decentralising" a quarter of London's energy.

Some centres may produce power from renewable sources.

Judith Salomon, director of planning and development at London First, said: "At the moment there are few incentives in place and too many barriers preventing the success of local heat and power generation. We are stuck with considerable distribution losses from high voltage pylons and the occasional tokenistic roof-mounted wind turbine or solar panel.

"We need to bring high-heat-demand buildings into local networks to make the economic and sustainability case for local generation stand up."