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Westminster City Council Carbon Savings Set To Pass 2,000 Tonnes A Year

Following on from the success of their award-winning £13m energy conservation project, work has begun on Phase 2 of the Westminster City Council Carbon Management Programme, which will deliver a further 579 tonnes of carbon reduction per year.

Phase 2 represents a further £9.9m investment, which includes grant funding of £3.8m secured through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (3b).

During the pre-construction period, Vital Energi’s team assessed 24 buildings to identify which energy improvements would deliver the largest carbon reductions. In addition to this, many buildings from Phase 1 of the programme were revisited to see what further conservation measures could be implemented.

The result of these surveys is that 38 of these buildings were chosen for improvements, with energy conservation measures including air source heat pumps, rooftop solar PV, fabric improvements and upgrades to the lighting, cooling, and air handling systems.  The team will also upgrade the Building Energy Management Systems which make intelligent decisions about how energy is used.

Compressor Lift Queensway

An air source heat pump delivery for Porchester Hall During Phase1 of the project.

Solution detail

“The Council is committed to reducing carbon emissions to meet our ambitious Net Zero targets and create a greener city for our residents. We know that a large percentage of carbon emissions in Westminster come from the built environment, and in recent years we have invested heavily in decarbonising council owned properties.”

Cllr David Boothroyd , Westminster City Council

Cllr David Boothroyd continued, “In 2022 we delivered 12 solar PV projects, including the installation of a 255-panel solar array at Queen Mother Sports Centre, and a 378-panel array at Moberly Sports Centre. Currently, we are installing solar PV on a further 10 sites, including the Avenues Youth Project in Harrow Road. The initial 12 sites will provide a total peak output of 660 kWp and generate 284,000 kWh per annum. Once the additional 10 sites have been completed, the total peak output will increase to 875 kWp. This will make a huge difference, reducing our carbon emissions by a further 48 tonnes annually.

The project will be transformative for many of Westminster City Council’s premises, with buildings such as the Avenues Youth Project, Dorothy Gardner Nursery School, Mary Patterson Nursery School, Mickey Star Nursery and Paddington Recreation Ground Changing Block now getting 100% of their heat from renewable sources, via air source heat pumps.  The scheme will also see solar panels installed at the Avenues Youth Project, Beachcroft House Care Home and the Central Area Service Centre, which will provide annual electricity savings of 39,936 kWh and decrease the dependency on electricity from the grid.

“We looked at many of the Council’s premises, analysed their current performance and energy usage and designed a project which will get the most decarbonisation for their budget and build on the 1,600 tonnes of carbon reduction per year achieved during Phase 1. These improvements range from technically complex solutions, such as solar and heat pumps, to simple initiatives such as insulation, draught proofing and upgrading glazing.  The overall effect is that the Council will take another step closer to its net zero targets.

Gerry Davies - Vital Energi, Regional Director - London