- More than £630m has been awarded for energy-efficient measures designed to help taxpayers save millions
- The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has been awarded more than £30m to install heat pumps
- This follows Great British Energy’s first major project to put solar panels on around 200 schools and 200 NHS sites
Local community buildings, schools, community centres and care homes could see their energy bills plummet, thanks to the government paying for new solar panels, heat pumps, double glazing and insulation.
More than £630m has been awarded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to help make Britain energy secure, as part of the Plan for Change. It estimates the upgrades will save taxpayers £650m per year on average over the next 12 years.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has been awarded more than £30m to install heat pumps at Queens Park Leisure Centre, Birkenhead Central Library and Chase Heys Homes for the elderly.
Meanwhile, the Northumbria NHS Foundation will receive more than £14m to replace fossil fuel heating at two sites, helping power these pillars of the local community with cleaner, homegrown energy.
Minister for energy consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said that The Royal Air Force Museum Midlands will benefit from £1m to install heat pumps and solar panels at one of its aircraft hangars, and Worcester City Council will receive £90,000 to upgrade the King George V Community Centre, with new heat pumps, solar panels and double glazing.
Finally, the University of York has been awarded £35m to capture energy from beneath the Earth’s surface to help deliver low-carbon heat to buildings on campus, while the National Portrait Gallery has been awarded more than £5m to switch to heat pumps in its main public gallery and Orange Street building, which houses the historic archives of the library.
Fahnbulleh said the investment, as part of the Plan for Change, will see “local communities benefit from our sprint to clean power, with warm public buildings, and run more affordably”.
An additional £102m from the Green Heat Network Fund, according to Fahnbulleh, will help develop new and existing heat networks in England, including the Hemiko South Westminster Area Network (SWAN), which could help decarbonise landmarks, like the Houses of Parliament using waste heat from the River Thames.
This follows Great British Energy’s first major project to put solar panels on around 200 schools and 200 NHS sites, helping them reinvest savings on their energy bills in teaching and healthcare, and boost savings for taxpayers.
Louise Shooter, policy manager, Energy UK, said high energy bills have been a “headache” for schools, hospitals, leisure centres and other community facilities in recent years, so she said it’s “great to see them being helped” to install energy saving measures.
“Energy UK’s members have been helping schools and hospitals across the country do the same and save money, which means more funding for the essential services they provide,” Shooter commented.
“It’s a very tangible example of the benefits that come from investing in the switch to cleaner energy”.
