Lead Organisation
Nottingham City CouncilOverview
SWM have been on the board of the Midlands Energy Hub since it’s establishment in 2018. The Midlands Energy Hub serves the nine LEPs and their member local authorities across the Midlands. Working in partnership with the UK Government through BEIS, the Midlands Energy Hub is supporting the delivery of a carbon neutral Britain at a local and regional level.Aims
In our role on the board, SWM support the Midlands Energy Hub to act as the central communication point to ensure effective regional collaboration, sharing of good practice, and standardisation of approach. Alongside the nine Midlands LEPs the board also includes representation from Energy Capital (West Midlands Combined Authority), Energy Systems Catapult. The presence of SWM and these partners on the Board extends the positive impact of the work through sharing of ideas, an expanded reach across important stakeholder networks and opening doors for collaboration and providing greater strategic insight to the work being developed. The board support the Regional Energy Projects Manager and Regional Senior Energy Projects Officers to work with the nine LEPs and their local authority members to effectively:- Audit the skills and resources which are currently in place across the region
- Identify gaps and needs, and prioritise resources accordingly
- Coordinate securing funding and investment into priority projects
Outcomes
SWM have supported various activities of the Midlands Energy Hub including raising local awareness of opportunities and benefits of local energy investment by:- Supporting the delivery of the Midlands Low Carbon Sector Study through stakeholder engagement and expert input.
- Supporting the development of the West Midlands regional Low Carbon and Environmental Technologies Action Plan through stakeholder engagement
- Supporting the work of the recently established Low Carbon Steering Group to deliver against the Low Carbon and Environmental Technologies Action Plan
- Making connections between our local authority led Public Sector Sustainability and Energy Network and the Midlands Energy Hub to identify projects for development
- Inviting the Regional Manager and Projects Officers to speak at various network meetings to raise the profile of the support available
- Promoting the activities of the Hub to 1,000’s of stakeholders across the region
“The support from SWM to the Midlands Energy Hub has been invaluable. SWM are very well connected across the Midlands Region and have helped the Midlands Energy Hub understand the local landscape and introduced us to key stakeholders while we were establishing ourselves in the region. SWM continues to provide excellent support to our activities as we successfully progress the development of renewable and low carbon projects across the region. SWM’s insight and experience are real asset to the Midlands Energy Hub Board and we look forward to continue working with them through the challenging and exciting times ahead.” Michael Gallagher, Regional Energy Projects Manager, Midlands Energy Hub (2020)
