Exeter wins funding to help create more renewable energy in the city
Published: 30 July 2024
The City Council has been awarded funding to explore new opportunities for solar PV on its buildings in Exeter to further lower its carbon footprint.
Exeter is among several local authorities to be awarded a Project Development Grant, and successfully secured £100,000 from the Government-funded South West Net Zero Hub.
It will spend enable completion of further technical investigations on Council-owned buildings where the business case and feasibility for solar PV has been established.
This will allow the Council to further expand solar PV generation across its corporate buildings, to reduce carbon emissions and provide a sustainable energy supply to support services from leisure centres to car parks and office accommodation.
To date the Council has installed 3.4 MW of solar PV, including a mini solar farm which provides a renewable energy supply feeding charging infrastructure to power electric refuse vehicles operating in the city.
Cllr Matt Vizard, Lead Councillor for Climate, Ecological Change and Communities said: “This funding is great news for Exeter and I congratulate our Net Zero team for securing it.
“The funding will allow the Council to do further work to assess which of its buildings are suitable for accommodating new solar PV arrays, which generate clean and sustainable electricity to run our services.
“We are committed to reducing carbon emissions in the city on our journey towards net zero, and a further expansion of solar PV generation is another step towards achieving this goal.”
The South West Net Zero Hub announced the first councils to be awarded funding through the £1m Local Net Zero Fund (LNZF).
The LNZF scheme was created by the Hub and funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to support local authorities in the South West to deliver projects that will reduce carbon emissions locally.
Funding can be used to investigate opportunities, unlock barriers and get stalled projects moving.
Steve Ransom, South West Net Zero Programme Manager said: “I would like to congratulate all the successful applicants to the Local Net Zero Fund.
“We are delighted with the response we’ve had from councils to this new fund which will support delivery of energy projects and strategic climate initiatives in the region.
“We also look forward to providing some of the successful projects with expert advice on finance through our Investment Readiness Support Service.”
The LNZF is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through the Southwest Net Zero Hub, which is hosted by the West of England Combined Authority.