Sustainable Bristol

Bristol first UK Council to become Renewable Energy Company

Posted on 09 February 2012

Bristol City Council, the UK’s leading green city, has announced funding to develop its own renewable energy services company – a first for British local government. The new prioject will establish a citywide energy services company to spearhead renewable energy and energy efficiency projects worth up to £140 million and helping to create 1,000 green energy jobs in Bristol.

The broad range of low carbon projects planned in Bristol will inspire similar cities in the UK and across Europe to look at ways to accelerate deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy schemes. Although the focus is mainly on solar energy, the Council is also looking to install relatively small Archimedes Screw type turbines on the River Avon.

Bristol is the first UK local authority, outside London, to receive a £2.5 million grant from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to meet most of the costs of developing an energy services company and investment programme. The investment programme should also kick-start and attract much bigger investment in the city potentially up to £2 billion.

Bristol City Council Leader Barbara Janke said: “This is a bold but necessary move for the city and we will be one of the first local authorities in the country to drive forward with such ambitious energy efficiency and renewable energy plans. In practical terms this will lead to cheaper bills for thousands of residents through investment in energy saving measures. This will also mean that as a city we will be generating our own energy, primarily through a major investment in solar energy generation.”

Bristol’s energy services company will be owned by the City Council on behalf of the citizens of Bristol. It intends to secure half of its funding – around £70 million – from the European Investment Bank, the rest from private sector investment. It would be an arms-length organisation and generate income through energy savings and energy generation.

Bristol’s investment programme will initially be focused on:

· Improving the energy efficiency of over 6,000 homes and public buildings through wall insulation and other measures

· Installing over 7,000 renewable energy generating systems on homes and public buildings such as solar panels and wood fuelled heating

· Developing small district heating networks where several buildings are heated from a single, efficient boiler.

As part of this programme, the city’s schools will also be installing energy efficiency works such as energy efficient lighting and insulation and rolling out energy awareness activities with staff and pupils in the school.

Peter Madden, Chief Executive of Forum for the Future said, “This major scaling-up of investment in energy efficiency and renewables reinforces Bristol’s reputation for green leadership. It doesn’t just put Bristol at the forefront of carbon reduction today; it will also make the city more resilient, more competitive and more economically successful in the decades to come.”