Public buildings get government funds to upgrade heating systems – Image from Locomotive74-Shutterstock
Hospitals, schools, libraries, museums and leisure centres across England are among hundreds of public buildings that will receive £553 million in government funding to upgrade their heating systems.
These upgraded heating systems will be more affordable, low-carbon heating and energy-efficient ones "powered by cleaner, cheaper, renewable energy" and "will reduce the use of fossil fuels exposed to volatile global energy prices, support thousands of jobs, and also save taxpayers money as these measures will ensure public buildings are cheaper to heat", says the government.
Local authorities, public bodies and taxpayers are expected to save an average of £650 million a year on energy bills over the next 15 years.
Funding through the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will see clean, efficient heat pumps installed and energy-efficiency upgrades (such as insulation) fitted in 160 public sector organisations such as Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Manchester Fire and Rescue, and historic venues at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Upgrades are already under way, with grants awarded to 381 public sector organisations across England under first two phases of the government’s scheme, with phase 1 alone supporting up to 30,000 clean jobs in the clean heating and energy-efficiency sectors.
Business and energy minister Lord Callanan said: "Using cleaner technology to heat our civic buildings is helping to shield public sector organisations from costly fossil fuels, especially at a time of high global prices.
"This funding will bring significant savings for taxpayers of well over half a billion pounds each year by making public buildings cheaper to run, heat and cool, whilst supporting economic growth and jobs across the country.
"The first round of funding allocated through phase 3 of the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will provide grants to 160 public sector organisations across the country to install 217 clean heat and energy efficiency projects.
"The funding is part of the £6.6 billion the government is investing this Parliament to cut fossil fuel use and emissions from buildings, whilst creating high-wage, high-skill jobs. In addition to the funding allocated to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, over £2 billion is aimed specifically at lower-income households and saving people money on their energy bills."
The scheme supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75%, compared to 2017 levels, by 2037.
The funding is the first part of an overall £1.425 billion set to be allocated through phase 3 over three years until 2025.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: "Here, in Greater Manchester we know we need to be taking bold and meaningful steps at every level to become carbon-neutral by 2038. By moving towards a greener economy we can foster new skills and create thousands of good jobs, powering our recovery from the pandemic and charting a course to a more sustainable, low-carbon future.
"The £100 million funding that we’ve been awarded so far is helping our public sector to lead the way in this effort, showing exactly what we can achieve with the right investment and a collaborative approach. We’ve retrofitted more than 130 public buildings and cut more than 8,000 tonnes of harmful emissions, at the same time as supporting and safeguarding almost 2,000 jobs in our local economy.
"We hope this is just the start of a renewed effort to work together at national and local level, helping us to go further and faster in cutting emissions and tackling the climate emergency."
