Barnet Council's story
The London Borough of Barnet received a £1.38m grant as part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS). This grant is supporting the decarbonisation of public buildings across Barnet, including offices, libraries, children's centres, and a primary school. The project is also reducing the borough's reliance on fossil fuel (gas) in favour of greener electric alternatives.
Energy-saving measures implemented under the scheme include the installation of heat pumps, solar PV, battery storage, and a building management system called Ecopilot – this tracks the weather to accurately anticipate heating demand and reduce energy consumption. These wide-ranging works are set to be completed by the end of 2021 and will deliver financial as well as carbon savings for the council.
This project has seen us build on some of the learnings from our previous RE:FIT retrofitting project and invest in new technologies, such as heat pumps and battery storage. It was also the first time we've included a school in one of our retrofitting projects, who were enthusiastic about taking part and reducing their carbon footprint.
The internal response to the initiative has been overwhelmingly positive, and it's great to see council staff so engaged in the process and becoming more climate-conscious. PSDS is set to deliver an impressive carbon saving of more than 250 tonnes annually and is playing a role in preparing Barnet for a sustainable future.
The next phase, which starts in 2022 and is expected to be completed by March 2023, will see the council investing a further £4.9million to retrofit up to 19 of Barnet's schools to make them more energy efficient.
Useful learnings from Barnet Council
Work with an expert partner – The parameters of the grant we received were strict and it was important that we moved quickly and compliantly. Working with an expert contractor with a background in these types of schemes was crucial in helping the project run smoothly. We'd recommend that any local authority thinks carefully about who they choose to partner with to deliver these sorts of works.
Barnet Council's metrics
Energy produced with renewables (solar PV).
Energy cost savings.
