Leicestershire County Council and Veolia deliver carbon and energy savings in the Midlands

Projects already implemented are expected to contribute to 525 tonnes CO₂e saved over the projects’ lifetimes, and projects are developed on a rolling basis. The Contract is open to public bodies in a 50 miles radius of Leicester, encouraging wider communities to reduce their emissions and benefit from guaranteed energy savings.

The challenge

Leicestershire County Council is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Reducing carbon emissions and increasing renewable energy generation within the Council portfolio while streamlining the approach to projects delivery and de-risking the projects is at the heart of the Council’s strategy.

A challenge for the Council is also to encourage the reduction of carbon emissions in the communities they represent, and allow other public organisations in the area to procure or finance projects more easily.

The solution

Leicestershire County Council decided to set up the single supplier Midlands Energy Performance Contract framework to serve their estate as well as all public bodies within a 50 mile radius of Leicester. The Council also runs a service called Score+ dedicated to helping schools access funding for their energy projects that would not be covered by short payback loans.

The council appointed Veolia in 2018 as delivery partner for a duration of up to 4 years. A structured and collaborative approach allows the projects pipeline to be built, assessed and progressed up to delivery point. Veolia’s Energy Team brings 30 years of experience in the development of energy and carbon management solutions and an in-depth knowledge of energy performance projects and all aspects of energy reduction and energy generation across the full range of building types.

Solutions are developed based on surveys and data analysis. Key to the process is the guarantee of energy savings by Veolia, which helps the council de-risk their investments.

The impact

Roof solar PV installations were completed at two Council buildings; one in Melton and one in Loughborough, covering over 130 roof mounted panels and delivering 29,000 kWh of renewable energy each year. The council will save more than £80,000 over the lifetime of these projects via the savings guarantee.

Thanks to collaboration and speed in Veolia’s delivery the arrays were installed and commissioned in time to qualify for the feed-in tariff, before the scheme ended in March 2019.

An LED lighting upgrade project was completed at Countesthorpe college as part of the Score+ service the School will save more than 465 tonnes CO₂e over the lifetime of the project. Over the life of the measures the savings will be even more.

Veolia brings wider expertise to the council in terms of battery storage and EV charging, developing bundled solutions including solar carports as well so that the council can generate revenue and encourage electric mobility for its people.

How is the new approach being sustained?

Leicestershire County Council had previous experience of energy savings guarantee schemes and has sustained the model and opened it to the wider public sector in their area to promote the approach and facilitate access. The council’s Strategic Property Services unit leads the programme and makes it a sustainable approach for the Authority to invest in strategic projects.

Veolia and the council are progressing many business cases in parallel. Controls upgrades, roof solar PV or LED lighting upgrades, for instance, are expected to have an impact on schools’ sustainability and reduce their energy bills as part of the Score+ programme.

Maximising the solar PV capacity on the County Hall roofs and car parks will help the council future-proof its estate and become more resilient.

Lessons learned

A collaborative work between the public and private sector brings projects to life that benefit also the whole community and contribute to prevent climate change in reducing carbon emissions.

A tailored approach looking at the sites specificities and optimising the financial cases for the council and public bodies using the Framework is key to success.

Public bodies in a 50 mile radius of Leicester (Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Northamptonshire, and Cambridgeshire) are warmly invited to get in touch with Leicestershire County Council should they wish to access the guaranteed savings scheme delivered by Veolia.

Contact

Charlotte Connor

Energy Business Partner | Commissioning Construction l Strategic Property Services l Corporate Resources l Leicestershire County Council l County Hall l Glenfield l LE3 8RE l Tel: 0116 305 6954 | Email: [email protected]

Elsa Colonna

Business Development Manager, Energy efficiency in buildings | Veolia

Tel: (0)7880482742

Email: [email protected]