St Albans City and District Council is to invest about £200,000 in money-saving renewable technologies to reduce energy use in its public buildings.
At a meeting on 20 September, Cabinet decided to proceed in principle to install:
• Solar Photovoltaic panels to generate electricity at Verulamium Museum, Harpenden Public Halls, Harpenden Sports Centre and Harpenden Swimming Pool, and
• Solar thermal panels to help heat water at Harpenden Swimming Pool.
It is estimated that these projects will produce a saving of £349,000 over a 20 year period. They will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 57.8 tonnes every year. This equates to 1% of the Council’s annual emissions.
The projects will be subject to energy efficiency and feasibility surveys being carried out for each building. This is to make sure that the buildings meet the required energy efficiency levels to qualify for the Feed-in Tariff and that the work is viable.
Solar panels have already been installed on the roof of the Council’s offices at the Civic Centre.
Councillor Daniel Chichester-Miles, Portfolio Holder for Environment for the Council, said: “These measures will generate free energy for use in our buildings, reducing the Council’s carbon emissions and long-term costs. In addition, the Council will be working with its current electricity supplier to explore the potential of moving to a ‘green’ electricity option for 2013/14.”
The Council is committed to reducing carbon emissions and expects to achieve a reduction of at least 5% year on year from its own operations. In 2011/12, emissions arising from energy and fuel used by the Council and its three largest contractors fell by 11%. Taking into account the impact of the current closure of Batchwood Golf and Tennis Centre, emissions fell by 8%.
Cabinet also noted that the Portfolio Holder for Environment will explore setting up a working party to look at how the Council will support the Government’s Green Deal scheme. Green Deal aims to encourage people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Residents will be able to access loan finance to install energy-saving measures, such as cavity wall insulation. The repayments and borrowing costs are financed by the savings in energy bills.
An
agenda for the meeting, including a report on energy efficiency measures, is available on the Council’s website.
Councillor contact:
Councillor Daniel Chichester-Miles, Portfolio Holder for Environment for St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819281
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson,
Media and Internal Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
www.stalbans.gov.uk
Notes:
1. The
Green Deal scheme is being introduced by the Government from 1 October 2012.
2. The Feed-in Tariff is a regular payment made by energy suppliers to customers who generate their own electricity from renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic panels.