News / Energy
Bristol part of new wave of South West energy projects
In partnership with Devon and Plymouth councils, Bristol City Council has been awarded €1.9m to deliver a new wave of energy projects in the South West.
This latest funding bid from the European Local Energy Assistance (ELENA) facility is the second one to be successful. The first, which was won by Bristol in 2014, provided the city with £50m for a host of energy and sustainability projects, including the development of the ongoing Heat Networks.
This time, the European Investment Bank and the European Commission have granted Bristol a share of a €1.9m pot, which will help to fund new energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport and heat networks projects across the South West.
is needed now More than ever
This second round of funding will focus on scaling up the sustainable energy offer in the South West region, and will also kick-start a number of new energy projects, all managed by a central delivery team in Bristol. This will see jobs created to help manage the project across the counties.
Hundreds of projects will improve the energy efficiency of commercial and domestic properties around Bristol, as well as increasing the electric vehicle infrastructure. This could mean more electric cars will soon be on the road, going some way towards tackling Bristol’s chronic air pollution problem.
The funding could also help to enable more solar projects to be set up in the city. This follows a record summer for the solar park at Avonmouth, which generated almost 800,000 kWh of energy – enough to power 257 homes – in just a three month period.
Solar panels could be a more common sight in Bristol, thanks to the European funding
Kye Dudd, cabinet minister for energy, said: “This is yet another really exciting step towards carbon reduction in Bristol. The scale of sustainable development generated by the last ELENA grant made an enormously positive impact on our ability to deliver clean energy for the city, so we have high hopes for the opportunities that come with this latest round of European funding.
“It’s great that Bristol has once again been recognised as a national leader in the field of sustainability as our goal to become a carbon neutral city by 2050 moves a step closer. It’s even more exciting now that we are in a position to share our knowledge and expertise with other parts of the region, helping them to reduce carbon and provide clean energy to towns and cities across the South West.”
Find out more about Bristol’s existing energy projects by visiting www.energyservicebristol.co.uk
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