The solar blocks set to start a new green revolution

415sqm of solar panels will power CCTV and communal lighting
Ruth Bloomfield12 April 2012

London's biggest expanse of solar panelling is to be fitted to three tower blocks, providing enough energy to power their lifts up 22 storeys.

The south-facing facade of each Sixties block, on the Edward Woods Estate in Shepherd's Bush, will be covered with 415 square metres of panelling. This will also provide power for CCTV, entryphones and communal lighting.

The £13.5million scheme is thought to be the biggest environmental renovation attempted on a housing estate, and includes nine-metre-high wind turbines on the roof of each tower.

The crumbling brick buildings will also be re-clad in a white, highly insulating resin which will help cut heating bills by up to 72 per cent.

To help fund the project, four new penthouse flats will be built within roof and terrace space and offices added on the ground floor to be rented out. It is hoped the penthouses will sell for an estimated £500,000 each.

John Alker, a spokesman for the UK Green Building Council, said he hoped the "exciting" project would be the first of many green revamps in London.

"We sincerely hope we are on the brink of a refurbishment revolution," he said. "Sustainability is too often seen as a niche middle class issue and I think that is what is most exciting about this."

Mr Alker also called on the Government to help homeowners make their properties greener.

"At the moment it is still too expensive and too much hassle for the average homeowner or landlord, and we need to make it much more affordable and attractive to people," he said.

Mark Elton, of ECD Architects, said the firm's scheme would improve the appearance as well as the carbon efficiency of the blocks.

"We hope this will become a flagship project, not only in the borough but nationally," he said.

"The new offices are being created in former pram storage areas. They are now totally redundant. The idea is that they will be used by charities, which will bring employment to the estate which will help on the social-sustainability front."

The scheme is due to be given planning approval by Hammersmith and Fulham council later this month.

The news comes in the same week Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband unveiled plans to slash emissions by 34 per cent and source 40 per cent of electricity from low carbon sources by 2020.

Initiatives include grants to help people make their homes more sustainable and produce their own clean energy with solar panels and wind turbines.

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