Low Carbon Economy - Energy Programme

Low Carbon Economy - Energy Programme

Organisations involved

Lead partner - Sustainability West Midlands. Supporting partners - Birmingham City Council and Be-Birmingham Partnership, Warwickshire County Council, Advantage West Midlands, Climate Change Office, Encraft.

Summary

The problem being addressed - how can local authorities create the plans and delivery mechanisms to provide the certainty for private sector investment in decentralised energy within a complex regional and local policy environment?

The Energy Bill recognises the Regional Development Agencies as having the overall lead on regional energy policy, unfortunately the resources and recognition of this role often is not supported by all Government Departments. As a result at the regional and local level there is often a complex mixture of policy, funding and agencies. Ultimately many of the decentralised energy solutions will rely on local authorities to lead on the implementation.

Update on the progress of the project

Energy Programme 2008-9

Sustainability West Midlands' review of progress on the energy actions of partners within the first year of the West Midlands Regional Economic Strategy reveals the need for improved coordinated energy policy and support activity.

Our recommendations for the region to develop a similar model as the public and private Waste Infrastructure and Investment Group begins to be developed. However the energy policy context is more complex than for waste.

Energy Programme 2009-10

Sustainability West Midlands, as part of the Be-Birmingham Strategic Partnership, is asked to develop a project that helps identify good practice in developing and delivering a local decentralised energy strategy to be applied to the development of a Birmingham Energy Strategy and disseminated to the wider region.

From February we secure a part-time secondment of Dr Jacky Lawrence the Energy Manager for Warwickshire County Council to help support our energy programme. This includes support for the Birmingham energy strategy, identifying good practice and support for local authorities in the region around energy strategies and delivery, and scoping potential models for a regional and sub-regional energy agencies.

SWM are also asked by the Climate Change Office partners to help develop proposals to review the current Climate Change Action Plan and future potential Climate Change Agency.

This work also supports the follow up actions from the City Region leaders summit around potential delivery models for energy and low carbon action.  

So far, the project has uncovered some interesting facts about Birmingham and its energy use;

• Energy data has been analysed and modelled from 1990 through to 2050.
• We have an idea about the amount of primary fuel needed to generate the electricity that is consumed in Birmingham by final user. Around 10,000 GWh of energy resources are wasted each year in the conversion of primary fuels to electricity, transmission and distribution so meet the electricity service needs of the final user.
• With business as usual, Birmingham could be consuming over 69,500 GWh of primary fuel resources per year by 2050.
• Around 53% of the energy consumed in Birmingham is natural gas.
• Around 40% of the energy consumed in Birmingham is in the domestic sector.
• Around 80 % of domestic energy consumption is natural gas - used for heating and cooking.
• Around 70% of industrial and commercial energy consumption is natural gas.
• Birmingham spends around £1.28 billion every year on energy.
• With forecast increases in energy costs, overall expenditure on energy (electricity, gas and petroleum products) across Birmingham could increase by up to £ £925 million (high scenario) a year and likely to be not less than £245 million (low scenario) by 2020.
• Electricity is only around 21% of the total annual energy consumption but around 46% of the total energy cost .
• Birmingham produces around 6 million tonnes of CO2 per year from its energy consumption

(This project activity delivers our Business plan objectives around 2.6 establish regional energy programme)

Links and contact information

Please contact Encraft by email enquiries@encraft.co.uk or phone 01926 312159 if you would like more information.