Picture from Twitter/Salix Finance
The first phase of installing carbon-saving technologies in Hounslow’s schools and public buildings has been completed.
The project follows £19m of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant funding in 2020 and has seen 32 primary schools and 29 public buildings fitted with low-carbon technologies. As part of the project, four of the council leisure centres are now carbon neutral.
There has been a range of energy-saving measures retrofitted at the schools and public buildings, including air source heat pumps to replace gas heating boilers, solar panels, energy-saving LED lighting and thermal insulation.
The measures installed in the borough schools will cut 1,264 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and save more than six million kilowatts of electricity each year.
The measures in public buildings will cut 2,099 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and save more than 11.5m kilowatts of electricity each year.
Based on the success of this project, Hounslow Council has been awarded a further £2.4m by BEIS to introduce carbon-cutting measures at a further 10 of the borough’s schools. Work is already underway on this latest phase and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Hounslow Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport Strategy, Councillor Katherine Dunne, said: “We are delighted to have completed the first phase of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. Our borough is committed to rising to the challenges of climate change. This is a real milestone in our ambition to make every part of the Council’s operation carbon-free.
“The success of this scheme is a testament to the hard work and professionalism of the Council’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Energy team and a tribute to the great partnership working we have enjoyed with Asset Plus our delivery partner, Salix and BEIS.
“This project will produce lasting benefits for our borough for generations to come. We are determined to build on this success and continue to move towards a carbon-free future.”
Commenting on the Hounslow scheme, Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan said:
“Funding from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is saving Hounslow taxpayers money each year by making their public buildings cheaper to run.
“By boosting the energy efficiency of these buildings and installing low carbon systems, we are helping shield public sector organisations from a costly reliance on fossil fuels, especially at a time of high global prices.”
Charles Pegg, Programme Manager, Salix Finance, said: “Salix is proud to continue its work with London Borough of Hounslow with the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, having previously worked with them through our former loan schemes.
“They have used their awarded grant funding to holistically develop numerous schools and their estates, providing popular technologies such as LED Lighting and Solar PV, as well as installing over 50 heat pumps. This has drastically reduced these sites’ fossil fuel dependency with the heating conversions saving around 2,500 tCO2 per annum alone.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Hounslow in the future as they plan to make similar improvements across their remaining sites.”
