The government has given £613 million of funding to a wide range of public sector organisations in the last phase of its Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), according to the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
In its summary report of Phase 3a of the scheme, which focuses strongly on heating decarbonisation, alongside energy efficiency measures, the department said PSDS funding had been awarded to 170 organisations for 231 different projects. Phase 3a covers projects from 2022-24.
There is no cap on the level of funding to each project, so the grants awarded ranged from £21,168 to £62.2 million. 56% of applications were for less than £1 million, while 4% of applications were for over £10 million, DESNZ said. The recipients ranged from primary schools and government buildings, to fire and police services and NHS trusts.
The largest number of applications came from local authorities, accounting for a third of all applications. The NHS applied for the largest proportion of funding with a total application value of £438.9 million, representing 51% of the value of all applications.
The department said:
Applicants were required to look at the overall energy usage in their buildings and combine energy efficiency measures with the most appropriate low carbon heating measures, thereby encouraging them to consider the whole building in their decarbonisation measures.
Heat decarbonisation
To support the focus on heat decarbonisation, applicants were required to focus on replacing end-of-life fossil fuel heating systems with low carbon heating systems such as heat pumps and connections to low carbon heat network, DESNZ said.
It added:
All applicants were required to include at least one measure to decarbonise part of or all the heating within a building with a low carbon heating system. Applicants were also required to take a whole building approach to decarbonising their buildings, looking at the overall energy usage and combining energy efficiency measures with the most appropriate low carbon heating measures.
Eligible measures could fall into four categories. It was compulsory to include a low carbon heating measure that reduces direct carbon emissions, such as heat pumps, electric heating or district heating. Other carbon reduction measures could be included, such as solar thermal, building fabric upgrades, piping insulation, mechanical ventilation, and heat recovery.
Measures that reduce indirect carbon emissions (typically electricity savings) such as solar PV, LED lighting and energy efficient ventilation were also eligible. Finally, measures that do not save carbon but enable the installation of measures that do, such as electrical infrastructure upgrades, metering, and energy storage could also be included.
Funding was provided for the ‘marginal costs’ of installing a low carbon heating system – defined as the additional costs on top of the business-as-usual costs of replacing the existing fossil fuel heating system on a like-for-like basis.
Successful projects
The largest grant was awarded to Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust for two projects to decarbonise Queens Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital.
Water-source heat pumps will be installed at Queens Medical Centre and air-source heat pumps will be installed at Nottingham City Hospital. Both sites will also install energy efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption, including heating pipework insulation and improved building energy management systems, draught proofing at Nottingham City Hospital, and double glazing and energy efficient chillers at Queens Medical Centre. These measures will help the trust to achieve the NHS’s plan to reach net zero by 2040, DESNZ noted.
At the other end of the scale, the Star Multi Academy Trust was awarded nearly £171,000 to decarbonise Monk Fryston Church of England Primary School in Leeds. A ground source heat pump will be installed to replace the existing fossil fuel heating system, alongside solar panels to produce renewable electricity and LED lighting to reduce energy consumption.
DESNZ is now monitoring and evaluating Phase 3a to check progress against planned milestones, to understand how well the scheme is delivering on its objectives, it said, and to analyse how the scheme has performed against its intended impacts. It added: “The evaluation will also provide clarity as to how the scheme can evolve to continue supporting decarbonisation of the public sector and enhance its ability to support our wider net zero goal.”
The technology that was most applied in Phase 3a was air-source heat pumps, installed in 206 projects. The next most popular measure was building fabric insulation, installed in 144 projects, followed by solar PV, installed in 113 projects.
