Interview
Talking energy with Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council has set itself an ambitious target to become the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028. Government Business catches up with Cllr Sally Longford to find out more about the council’s energy and sustainability plans
Cllr Sally Longford
Having already met your 2020 Energy Strategy target, why has the council set the ambitious task of becoming the first carbon neutral city in the UK? The council has provided leadership on climate change and sustainability in local government for many years. We see the target of becoming carbon neutral both a necessary next step as a responsible authority acting to protect citizens and future generations in Nottingham, and as part of our role in tackling this critical global challenge. We have already made significant progress, and are able to demonstrate that this transition can be a just one with many benefits for citizens, businesses, and the public sector – as seen through our national leading work on Energy Services. We hope our ambitious target will inspire innovation, and wider action in the city and across the country.
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working with partners to combine solar Pv with domestic, community and commercial energy storage facilities to help maximise the use of renewable energy. New projects like vehicle-to-grid technology that help reduce demands upon the grid at peak times are indicative of the way forward in the next few years. Coupled to this is a programme of work assisting businesses, residents and our own staff to reduce energy consumption. You have plans to install large batteries that can store solar energy on council premise. Compared with other energy sources, how key to reducing emissions do you think local authority energy use will be? Our work on energy supports not only our climate and sustainability objectives, but also fuel poverty, regeneration of the city and protecting frontline services through generating income from our assets and a unique commercial offer. This model of municipal energy services, a heat network and the EE heat smart meter, is vital to lead the transition of local energy provision to a smarter, dynamic and carbon neutral status that works for all. We have piloted battery storage alongside generating assets at our leisure sites and have a battery at Trent Basin which supports the new housing development to be sustainable by utilising solar energy stored in the 1MW battery in the evening. We have a fantastic new battery storage project underway at our Eastcroft Depot site which will allow stored energy from renewables and electric vehicles to be traded with grid.
Throughout 2018, what progress has Nottingham City Council made in enabling people to move away from petrol and diesel-power and get around in a cleaner, greener way? Last year was a big year Last for us, with our local year wa plan to improve air big yea s a quality in the city r f o r us, with ou approved by Defra r lo cal plan to impr in November. Our o Nottingham is plan focuses on in the c ve air quality ity appr expected to meet reducing transport its 2020 target emissions through by Defr oved a in of 20 per cent of retrofitting 171 diesel Novem energy generation buses with cleaner ber from low carbon exhausts, which started sources. What schemes last year, and introducing are currently in place to a requirement that only Euro achieve this? And can residents 6 or Ultra Low Emission Vehicle expect further action on this in (ULEV) taxis will be licensed from 2020. the future? Obviously it’s a big switch for drivers to Nottingham City Council has an extensive make, so we’re offering support including heat network linked to Energy-from-Waste, two week trials of cleaner vehicles, with and a significant Solar PV programme on its funding secured to install on street charge own estate and portfolio, in addition to panels points at taxi ranks. By the end of last year on thousands of Nottingham City Homes we had nine ULEV taxis on our roads, and properties across the city. We are committed to we’re continuing to see a steady increase. further rollout of solar panels. Nottingham has We’re continuing to invest in better also pioneered more innovative approaches facilities for walking and cycling, and to renewables, such as Solar Carports, and last year completed work to improve
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