Siemens has signed a partnership agreement with UK100, a network of 94 UK mayors and council leaders, to work with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to bring together financing from local authorities, private capital and government investment to create clean energy projects. The group hopes to try to unlock a £100 billion pipeline of clean energy projects  to help meet net-zero emissions and the Paris Climate goals.

The first stage will be a series of regional workshops intended to develop business cases for investment and outline what policy and procurement changes may be needed to get integrated, at-scale clean energy projects off the ground to address the climate emergency.

BEIS has already established five Local Energy Hubs: North West; Yorkshire, Humber & the North East; Greater South East; Midlands; and the South West. They will provide practical support and expertise to Local Enterprise Partnerships  and local authorities to help them undertake the development for priority energy projects, up to the point where they are able to secure finance. 

A survey by UK100 showed that  investors and local councils need more support from central government in the form of additional development capital, a single gateway to apply for support and help in developing a business case for clean energy projects. Polly Billington, Director of UK100, said: “Siemens commitment to this partnership is a sign that the private sector is taking local energy schemes seriously and can help local government to play its part in meeting our ambition of net-zero emissions.”

Carl Ennis, managing director, Siemens Smart Infrastructure, said: “Local government is in a strong position to help the UK shift to 100% clean energy. We will work with Local Energy Hubs to develop clean energy action plans which will make credible business cases to attract investors and make sure that these plans have support from local communities.”

Siemens are currently working on a number of smart energy schemes with local authorities across the UK, including the Triangulum project in Manchester, which aims to cut energy bills and flatten peak demand on the power network through increased use of renewable and low-carbon energy resources.

 

Further reading 

The New Power Interview: Paul Brodrick, Head of connected communities, Siemens “People talk about smart cities, and it’s a hundred different things to a hundred different people, but essentially it’s just infrastructure,” says Paul Brodrick, as he describes the Triangulum project