In December 2020, Worcestershire County Council (WCC) successfully bid for £885,687 grant funding from the Government’s Salix Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to fully fund several energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across WCC’s estate.
Summary
In December 2020, Worcestershire County Council (WCC) successfully bid for £885,687 grant funding from the Government’s Salix Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to fully fund several energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across WCC’s estate. Funding was secured for 34 discreet energy projects across 25 council sites. Projects included insulation, lighting, glazing and energy management system upgrades, and the installation of solar panel systems. All the Salix-funded projects are expected to result in financial savings of over £55,000 per year and carbon savings of just under 170 tonnes of CO2e per year.
The challenge
Approximately five per cent of WCC’s absolute carbon emissions are from electricity and gas consumption in Council buildings. The council operates from just under 100 buildings around the county, including offices, libraries, depots, care homes and Country Park visitor centres. As property owner, landlord and lessee, WCC’s property management decisions have a significant impact on carbon emissions.
Energy prices have significantly increased over the last few years, particularly over the last 12 to 18 months, and energy costs are expected to rise again rapidly through 2022/2023. Heating and powering WCC buildings (excluding schools) cost £1.37 million in 2021/22 and is set to cost more than £1.74 million in 2022/23. Action taken to reduce building energy consumption will lessen the impact of this trend on council budgets.
Opportunities for investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy within the council’s estate have been and continue to be developed. The council has overseen many energy efficiency projects, including installation of solar panels and improvement in the energy efficiency of buildings. Energy projects in corporate buildings, supported via the council’s ‘Energy Efficiency Spend to Save’ fund to date, are saving the council approximately £200,000 every year. Throughout 2020/21, WCC generated 73,336 kWh of electricity from solar PV installations on 5 corporate buildings: Wildwood Offices Worcester, Kidderminster Library, Redditch Library, St. John’s Library and Stourport Civic Centre. However, there is much more that can be done to decarbonise the Council’s estate. Availability of funding, particularly for interventions with longer payback times, is, however, a major barrier to progress in this area.
The solution
In late 2020, the Government announced financial support for the Public Sector in response to recovery from the ongoing Covid pandemic. In December 2020, Worcestershire County Council successfully bid for £885,687 grant funding from the Government’s Salix Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS1) to fully fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across WCC’s estate, which the council would not have been able to fund otherwise. 100 per cent grant funding was secured for 34 discreet energy projects across 25 council sites. Projects included insulation, lighting, glazing and energy management system upgrades, and the installation of solar panel systems.
The impact
All the Salix-funded projects are expected to result in financial savings of over £55,000 per year and carbon savings of just under 170 tonnes of CO2e per year. This is significant in terms of ensuring the council’s resilience to future energy price rises and ensures the council can progress against the objectives of its Net Zero Carbon Plan.
How is the new approach being sustained?
Following the council’s successful bid to Salix PSDS1, the council also secured additional 100 per cent grant funding from Salix’s Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF) to undertake decarbonisation surveys of all buildings within its own estate. These surveys will support work carried out on the estate going forward, to continually progress decarbonising property and provide a greater understanding of the carbon impact of work carried out.
Lessons learned
The need to be prepared for potential future funding calls by developing a pipeline of relevant projects that can be included, at short notice, into funding bids.
Contact
Further resources
Worcestershire County Council Sustainability
Worcestershire County Council Net Zero Carbon Plan and Greenhouse Gas Report