Over the next decade the UK must prepare to meet national energy targets by moving to low carbon technologies. This transition requires substantial upgrades to the energy infrastructure, and the considerable challenge of fitting up to 27 million homes with low carbon energy systems. At a local level this means increasing the use of district heating systems, household heat pumps and low carbon gases, and the widespread installation of energy efficiency measures, including improved insulation and home energy management systems. To enable a cost-effective low carbon transition, the ESC is looking at how local area planning can be used to identify the right technologies, and deploy them in the right place, at the right time. These solutions will be influenced by a number of factors, including:
- local resources
- political support and leadership
- consumer and community preferences
- technological innovation
- cost
By creating local area energy plans, the ESC will play a vital role in developing the most effective systems at a local level to meet future energy demand and support carbon reduction objectives.
