Landmark renewable energy deal celebrated

Bristol is the “leading city” in Britain in taking action on climate change, according to City Hall chiefs celebrating a landmark renewable energy deal.

Bristol City Council has agreed the deal with two energy companies to transform how the city powers its electricity and heating.

The City Leap deal will see hundreds of millions spent over the next 20 years in installing wind turbines, solar panels and heat networks, and also retrofitting homes with more efficient insulation. A launch party for the agreement was held at the Arnolfini on Thursday.

Ameresco, an American firm, and Vattenfall, a Swedish company, will get first right of refusal on a huge range of climate projects planned by the council. Bosses from the two companies welcomed the deal as an “immense opportunity for real impact”.

Dudd is the Labour councillor for Southmead – photo: Bristol City Council

Speaking at the launch party, Labour councillor Kye Dudd, cabinet member for climate, said: “Bristol has the lowest carbon footprint per capita out of all the core cities in the country. Since 2015, the council has reduced its own carbon footprint by 50 per cent in terms of direct emissions. There are other cities in the UK that do well, like Glasgow, but we’re the leading city.”

The council has already invested more than £100m on decarbonising Bristol’s energy network, Dudd said. This includes wind turbines, solar farms, the heat network, electric vehicle charging and retrofitting 10,000 council homes. But the council has seen its budget slashed over the past 13 years under the government’s austerity programme.

Dudd added: “The gap between what we were doing as a council and what needed to be done was absolutely huge. Quite clearly the city council doesn’t have the money, and the national government wasn’t stepping up to the level of funding needed. So could we attract investment into the city to deal with this problem from the private sector?

“The idea behind a 20-year partnership is that it gives the private sector certainty. It’s not just a one-off contract to do solar panels. With that certainty they can afford to invest in jobs, apprenticeships and social value.”

Five years ago the council sent out a prospectus outlining £1b worth of climate projects, seeking companies to help Bristol cut its carbon emissions. 181 companies expressed their interest, and last year the council announced it had chosen Ameresco to lead the City Leap deal, with Vattenfall taking over the work on expanding the city’s district heat network.

A joint venture company has now been set up between the council and the two companies. At least £424m is expected to be invested over the first five years of the deal, with over £1b over the next two decades.

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Read more: ‘World first’ £1bn deal for greener Bristol launched

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Britta Mackintosh, senior vice president at Ameresco, said: “What we have here in Bristol City Leap is really so different for its committed intent for action at an immediate level — we’re not just talking about it anymore, we’re actually doing something, and with really aggressive timelines. None of this will be an easy slam dunk, but it’s what we must do.

“City Leap is also going to establish a community energy fund to help communities realise their own low carbon projects and take ownership of their journey to net zero. We should all be striving for momentum towards carbon neutrality. The opportunity for a real impact is immense and it starts right here.”

Ameresco has promised to save 140,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the first five years, as well as install 180 megawatts of renewable energy generation and invest £22 million in energy efficiency. A community energy fund will also help community groups install their own generators, similar to the new giant wind turbine being installed in Avonmouth.

Vattenfall, which is owned by the Swedish government, already provides heat to 2,000 homes in Bristol through the city’s heat network. This works by pumping hot water through underground insulated pipes to many different buildings, powered by communal heat sources.

The heat network is expanding, with pipes being laid on Malago Road in Bedminster, and a new connection recently installed at Temple Fire Station at no cost to the fire service. Vattenfall also plans to expand to the city centre, St Phillip’s Marsh, Spike Island, Ashton Gate, and the regeneration project in St Judes known as the ‘Frome Gateway’.

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Jenny Curtis, director at Vattenfall, said: “District heating is a proven technology that will deliver reliable, cost-effective heat. City Leap is the perfect example of what we can achieve when the public and private sectors come together to address one of the paramount challenges in our society, climate change. It’s a global issue but it requires local solutions.

“In dense, urban areas such as Bristol, low carbon heat networks are the best practical solution. We expect to invest over £300 million of Vattenfall’s capital over the next five years in Bristol, building long term infrastructure, and delivering jobs and economic growth.”

About a third of Bristol’s carbon emissions come from household energy use, according to government data, and the majority of this comes from burning natural gas — so switching from gas boilers to district heat networks or heat pumps should help eliminate these emissions. But one area the City Leap deal does not address is transport, which emits more carbon dioxide in Bristol than household energy use.

After the launch party, which was attended by local business representatives and people working in renewable energy, five roadshows will be held across Bristol to give local communities an overview of the City Leap deal and how they can get involved in and benefit from the plans.

These will be held in Lawrence Weston on April 25, St Paul’s on May 3, Lockleaze on May 12, Southmead on May 19, and Hartcliffe on May 22.

Alex Seabrook is a local democracy reporter for Bristol

Main photo: Bristol City Council

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• Seven Bristol parks to get £1.6m boost to support new housing developments
• Is Bristol taking the lead on wind energy?

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