In a shock statement this afternoon, Buckingham Palace announced it's intention to apply for planning permission for up to 600 wind turbines to be erected within The Royal Parks.
The press release outlines the project, which is to be carried out over the next ten years and in two distinct phases.
The initial phase will include St James Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and phase two will extend the scheme to include Richmond Park, Greenwich Park and The Regents Park.
Buckingham Palace states that the proposals are in line with the Government's stated objectives which are to replace existing dependancy on fossil fuels with renewable alternatives by 2050.
In addition, the intention is that the additional income that Her Majesty will receive in selling the electricity back to the National Grid, should reduce the need to increase the amount paid to her from the Civil List and as a consequence the burden on the tax-payer should be reduced.
A spokesman for the Palace stated that 'Her Majesty was attempting to lead by example. She accepts that renewable energy is the way forward but can see that this is often frustrated by 'not in my back-yard' mentality.By erecting the turbines in 'her gardens' she is hoping that others will follow suit'
A spokesman for DECC stated that the turbines were likely to be 20KW examples and would probably be imported from China, Germany or Scandinavia as 'we no longer have the capacity to manufacture anything (of this scale) in the UK'
A statement from The Lord Mayor's office said 'that the long term objective was that the City of London would be self sufficient by 2025'
When asked about the rest of the country he said that he didn't know!!
