Coventry: our strategic energy partner. How we’re reducing an entire city’s carbon.
It’s been a year since we announced the launch of our pioneering strategic energy partnership (SEP) with Coventry City Council. Coventry has been our UK home city for almost 30 years and we’re delighted to be partnering with them to build a cleaner, more sustainable, net zero city. Together we’re making new energy work for everyone and fostering a new green economy that will bring jobs and benefits for generations to come.
During consultation for the partnership, 80% of respondents described climate change as an issue that they wanted the Council to act on. Two issues stuck out for people – transport and home energy efficiency. These are the city’s two biggest sources of carbon emissions. From the start, we’ve known that the partnership is not about designing a new vision for the future. That vision already exists. It’s about delivering the improvements people want and need to cut those emissions.
In homes and public buildings, that means improving insulation and energy efficiency. In transport it means becoming the UK’s first all-electric bus city and installing a network of hundreds of EV chargers. For local energy infrastructure, it means shifting from using fossil fuels to producing renewable energy locally. And for Coventry’s economy it means the private and public sector working together to boost skills and create thousands of green jobs.
The energy transition is a once in a generation opportunity to invigorate local economies. I couldn’t be prouder that we’ve teamed up with our home city to transform it into a model for modern sustainability.
So, what are we trying to achieve? How have we been doing in our first year?
Powering Coventry with clean, local energy.
This part of the SEP has three goals. First, to run as much of Coventry as we can with locally generated renewable energy. Second, to reduce the city’s exposure to the global energy market. Third, to position Coventry as sustainable and investable.
To generate renewable energy locally we’re focusing on solar photovoltaic installations, including a flagship 30 MW capacity solar farm and a Solar in Schools project. Planning permission applications are well underway for the solar farm project and we’re conducting initial reviews to define the best approach to implement the Solar in Schools project.
I’m also pleased to announce that we’ve agreed an energy supply contract for Coventry City Council starting from Q4 2024. With this contract we’ll make the council’s energy costs more predictable and reduce its exposure to energy market pressures.
Another pillar of the clean local energy strategy is to decarbonise heat. In the years to come we’ll be building custom solutions to connect Coventry to new sources of heating and cooling infrastructure. We’ll also be increasing the efficiency of heating in the city, including by electrifying heating systems.
Developing skills and a thriving jobs market.
We’re also bolstering the city’s energy sector job market to build on the strengths of Coventry’s economy. By developing the energy-related skills of the future and establishing a strong local supply chain of project partners, we’re putting the people of Coventry at the heart of the city’s transition to net zero.
We’re already making great headway. Our project to recruit and train at least 25 apprentices in the first five years of the partnership is off to a great start. In year one, we’ve recruited our first five apprentices from underrepresented communities. We’ll also be offering work placements to young people from diverse backgrounds to foster an inclusive workplace. These placements will empower attendees with employable skills and experience.
I’m particularly excited to see how we can train and educate pupils in Coventry in the energy skills of the future. To jump start this, we’ve approved a schools programme offering workshops in 16 classes across six schools. This is just the start of what’ll be a multi-pronged effort. We’ll be embedding renewable energy and sustainability topics into the curriculum in more schools and colleges across the city. Students will be able to get hands-on experience with us through workshops and site visits focusing on renewable energy, environmental science, and green technologies. Plus, we’ll help students plan their careers and prepare for jobs in the energy industry. In universities, we’ll be championing research programmes that build green skills and renewables expertise in Coventry.
To support Coventry’s green jobs industry, we’re setting up the systems we need to partner with local businesses for upcoming projects. With this pipeline of education, training and business support, I’m confident that we can equip Coventry with the skills and infrastructure it needs to thrive in the energy transition.
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Driving and scaling energy innovation all over the city.
Together with the city council, we see an opportunity for Coventry to be a living laboratory in which to test innovative solutions against the challenges brought about by the energy transition. I’ve always been impressed by the council’s experimental mindset and willingness to try new things. Working hand-in-hand, we’ve drawn up a pipeline of energy innovation pilots to test new technologies. We'll scale successful pilots to decarbonise the city’s energy, improve resilience and reduce energy bills for the city and its people.
We’re making strides in this area of the partnership too. We’ve launched our citywide EV charging strategy which, when complete, will form a single charging ecosystem for electric vehicles. This will give Coventry residents easy access to standard, fast and ultra-fast charging points all across the city. We’ve installed the first 10 EV chargers, with hundreds more to come over the coming years. Switching to the council’s fleet of vehicles and depots, we’ve completed an initial site visit to look for opportunities to decarbonise.
To decarbonise the council’s portfolio of buildings, we’ve secured a grant and council funding. We’ll cut the level of carbon needed to run these buildings by improving their energy efficiency. Work on this will start soon. Then we’ll expand our initiative to tackle unnecessary carbon emissions from other city buildings including libraries, children’s homes, care homes, and health centres.
But this is only the beginning. Our plans will go far beyond council properties to benefit homes and schools across the city. As the partnership continues, we’ll be installing photovoltaic solar setups on both public and private schools and education institutions citywide. This’ll cut reliance on global energy markets and improve Coventry’s energy independence. We’ll also be working with homeowners to install home EV chargers and get them set up on our time-of-use EV tariffs. What’s more, we’ll be helping eligible residents to embrace home energy tech by pairing solar panels and EV chargers.
Bringing benefits to the people and communities of Coventry.
As exciting as all this progress is, the SEP won’t be a success if it doesn’t make a meaningful impact on the great majority of Coventry residents. That’s why we’ve put pledges to support communities and improve people’s homes at the heart of the partnership. We’ll do this by making the city’s homes more energy efficient and reducing fuel poverty.
With the Home Upgrade Grant and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) schemes we’ll be installing energy efficiency measures in low-income and fuel-poor households. This will mean warmer, more comfortable homes for many. With 20% of Coventry households living in low-income, low energy efficiency households, compared to 13% nationally, this is a top priority¹.
We’ll also be developing an annual Community Benefit Fund prioritising organisations that focus on energy, education, environment, jobs, health, and socio-economic development. Finally, we’ll be launching a volunteering programme, encouraging people from across the city to get involved in community service and ecological projects.
Together with the council, we’ll listen to all voices in the city and make sure no one is left behind. We’ll give the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities energy advice and support. We'll make sure Coventry residents know what funding they’re eligible for and how to get it. Above all, we’ll ensure that we deliver results that are not only financially and environmentally effective, but which also contribute to a fair, diverse and inclusive society.
A great start, with lots more to do.
As you can see, our partnership with Coventry is off to a flying start and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to get done in our first year working together. There’s a long and exciting road ahead and I’m looking forward to seeing how much our partnership can achieve over the next 14 years.
Collaborating with one partner for over a decade gives us a unique opportunity to have a huge impact on Coventry’s long-term future. My ambition is that the SEP will create a nationwide blueprint for how to meet the UK’s net zero commitments by bringing together the best of the public and private sector.
Thank you to everyone involved in the partnership for your hard work and commitment. I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing our plans come to life in the coming years.