Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn in Power Station [Peter Searle]

POWER STATION
Directed by Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn
Certificate: PG
☆☆☆☆

THE fact our planet is on fire is a sobering enough reason to look at how the energy we use is generated: added to the soaring costs of fuel, finding new ways to heat our homes is no longer the sole preserve of Good Life-style hippies.

In this documentary, we follow Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn, film-makers and artists who decide they are going to turn their street into a power station.

It is a similar idea to the work the Camden-based green power campaign Power Up North London has been doing for 10 years. PUNL issues shares to investors who chip in to install solar panels on public buildings – they’ve put power units on St Anne’s Church, Highgate, the Caversham Road GP practice in Kentish Town, and the Talacre Sports Centre in Camden Town, to name a few. The investor gets a dividend returned to them as power is sold back to the grid. It not only cuts greenhouse gas emissions, but slashes fuel bills too for public services.

Dan and Hilary live in Lynmouth Road, E17, a typical east London street.

The couple have a eureka moment during lockdown and decide to turn their terrace into a power-generating, climate-saving, green energy trailblazer. We follow them on a bumpy journey as they seek to persuade neighbours that it’s a sound idea – and then have to work out how to fund the upgrade.

Being arty east London types, they have plenty of tools at their disposal: their fundraising ranges from a sponsored sleep-out on their rooftop to recording a Christmas single.

While there is a school of thought that says mini projects to tackle a global problem caused by big, nasty firms which are there in plain sight, is like tackling a rampaging elephant with a peashooter.

The couple say if every home in the UK had a solar panel on it the cost of installation would be paid back within 10 years – big figures for a big task we face.

But this excuse to step back from citizen activism can no longer wash. Everyone has to pull their weight and if enough empowered citizens take action, as this neighbourhood has done, the impact can be felt on many levels.

What were you doing when the planet was on fire? Installing solar and telling the world about it is as good an answer as any.