COUNTY chiefs are celebrating after Worcestershire County Council was named the top council in England at this year’s National Energy Efficiency Awards.
The authority came in third place in behind Dundee and Aberdeen in the standings for this year’s Council of the Year Award.
The recognition highlights the work that has been undertaken by the council over the last year and the financial and carbon savings that have been achieved.
In the last year, the council has overseen several energy efficiency projects, including major street lighting upgrades that will see the remaining high pressure sodium lights across the county, be replaced with LED.
Several projects have helped to contribute towards the council’s nomination for the top prize; including internal projects such as the Energy Efficiency Spend to Save programme which focuses on making the council’s own property more energy efficient; and community based projects including Warmer Worcestershire schemes and the Worcestershire Energy Switch.
In the past 12 months, 147 households have received improvements to their home through Warmer Worcestershire schemes, whilst 560 households registered for a new energy tariff offer. 155 of those registered switched to the new cheaper tariff offered through a collective energy switch saving households an average of £182 per year.
So far, 45 businesses have received support from the council’s Low Carbon Opportunities Programme (LoCOP), which provides low carbon innovation and renewable energy support to SMEs in Worcestershire. This scheme offers grants towards the cost of installing renewable technologies, such as heat pumps and solar panels to reduce the running costs and CO2 emissions. The project has identified savings of 313 tonnes of CO2e per year to Worcestershire businesses.
Cabinet member for the Environment, Coun Tony Miller said: “Our teams and projects span across the county; making sure that everywhere we can, from our own buildings, to local businesses and communities, all have access to support and resources they need to become more energy efficient.”
