SHOPPERS have given their views on the Stroud 5050 campaign to transform the town’s energy supply.

Green electricity company Ecotricity, which is based in the town, had a stall at the farmers’ market to take its message to the streets.

It wants to garner support in a bid to ensure that 50% of the town’s energy demand is fulfilled by local wind power.

Customer services manager Andy Cook was manning the stall with his colleagues.

He said: “We wanted to talk to people about it and see what they think.”

The company, founded in 1995, is posting a voting form to every house in the district asking one question: should we make 50% of Stroud’s electricity from local wind energy.

If it gets enough ‘yes’ votes it will use this as a bargaining tool with the Government when it considers future energy sources.

The first step in its plans would be to put eight wind turbines in Stinchcombe.

Mr Cook said: “Those eight turbines would provide a quarter of what the town needs, taking us half way towards our target.”

The company says that 16 turbines would be sufficient to supply 50% of Stroud’s energy needs.

Mr Cook added: “We’ve been talking to people about how it would work, what we want to achieve and how it would affect them. We’ve been asking them to vote and have been collecting both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ votes.

“The stall has been a good way of talking about what we want to do and a way of gauging people in Stroud’s responses to wind power.”

Ecotricity’s founder Dale Vince said renewable power is vital to both keeping the lights on and fighting climate change.

He said: “Climate change and the looming energy crisis, which is the ultimate double whammy, means questions of how we keep the lights on for our children and grandchildren have never been more pressing.

“The answer to both is to harness indigenous sources of renewable energy, like wind power.

“Every turbine we build is a vital step towards energy independence and securing our future needs.”

Visit www.stroud5050.org or www.thisisgloucestershire.co. uk/stroud/stroud 5050.

Company talks to farmers’ market shoppers about plan to supply half town’s energy from windpower