E.ON will become the Coventry City Council’s Strategic Energy Partner, forming an alliance that will build a cleaner and more sustainable city.
The partnership will see the two organisations collaborate on energy use in the city for the benefit of local communities and the wider economy.
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change at Coventry City Council made the partnership announcement today, alongside Chris Norbury, Chief Executive of E.ON UK.
Cllr O’Boyle, said:
This is really exciting and completely innovative. No other city in the country is doing this. It will help Coventry move ahead with a range of projects that the Council would not have been able to achieve on its own. E.ON is based in Coventry and has been for almost 30 years, and it brings expertise, knowledge and skills. The partnership will also bring finance from the private sector so we will be able to quickly move forward on a range of schemes to benefit the city.
We are already spearheading a number of major green projects, including the installation of hundreds of electric charging points – the highest number of any city outside of London. We have also developed a state-of-the art new materials recycling facility and we are well on the way to becoming the country’s first all-electric bus city.
Chris Norbury, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, said:
The energy transition is a way to regenerate the local economy and we’re convinced we can make a difference in and with our home city. This is not about designing a new vision for the future, it’s about getting on and delivering Coventry’s response to the climate crisis – making improvements across the city that people want and need. That could mean better insulation for homes, more energy efficient public buildings, shifting from fossil fuels to locally-produced renewable energy and, perhaps most importantly, creating thousands of good jobs.
The partnership is designed to make the best use of the skills and abilities of the two organisations to transform the local economy and open up access to hundreds of millions of pounds of private sector investment.
Projects discussed for delivery by the partnership so far include the creation of a 30MW solar farm, bringing solar power into schools across the city and decarbonisation of a number of council vehicles and depots.
Work is also intended to include solar energy for public buildings, a push to electrify transport with greater electric vehicle charge point access for residents, and improving energy efficiency across homes and businesses.
