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Pupil-led wind turbine project at Spen Valley Sports College
Carbon management in Kirklees schools
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Sustainable Development Commission
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An innovative scheme introduced by Kirklees Council is enabling it to invest in energy and water efficiency measures in its estate and to attract external funding for energy projects. The scheme is known as the Energy and Water Conservation Fund.
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Overview
Kirklees’ 198 school buildings emit about 19,000 tonnes of CO2 per year – about half of the authority’s estates estimated total of 37,000 tonnes. An innovative scheme introduced by Kirklees Council is enabling it to invest in energy and water efficiency measures in its estate and to attract external funding for energy projects. The scheme is known as the Energy and Water Conservation Fund.
Any council building (including schools) can request an energy survey containing costed recommendations on investments to save energy and water and reduce bills. Building managers can then apply for a loan from the fund to carry out the work on the assumption that it will be repaid from the savings arising from lower energy and water bills. Annual repayments are set at half the value of the savings so that even during the repayment period the recipient of the loan saves money. Payments continue until the grant has been repaid, and then for a further two years as a contribution towards the fund’s administrative costs. For small projects under £1,000, half of the cost of the project is given as a grant.
Before work begins, applicants supply details about their current energy and water consumption, floor area, hours and times of use, number of occupants and any additional information about activities with energy and water implications (e.g. swimming pool). These are then re-measured after the relevant investments have been made to ensure the impact of the work is properly assessed.
Energy and water consumption reports are also produced each year for council buildings, comparing the previous year’s usage with a three-year average and national benchmarks. The aim is to enable staff to regularly take stock of their energy usage and carbon emissions in order to plan for further reductions.
To date, 60 per cent of applications to the fund have been from schools. The authority believes that energy efficiency education is crucial and recognises that the 65,000 pupils in Kirklees schools are the energy managers of its future low-carbon economy. Each year, around 10 -15 local schools are selected to take part in a Climate Champions project. Schools are chosen to reflect different age groups, different areas of Kirklees, different socio-economic backgrounds, and where there are recognised issues with energy usage.
Key features
education
energy
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