Carbon reduction programme results in big savings for council

A decarbonisation drive in Stoke-on-Trent has resulted in a dramatic reduction in carbon and costs for the City Council.

Five years after the council formed a strategic collaboration with Siemens to develop a series of energy-saving projects, results show a fall in annual CO2 emissions by 1,415 tonnes, saving £628,258 per year in energy costs.

The three-year phased-improvements programme optimised energy efficiencies, developed onsite generation and added decarbonisation measures to several buildings and sites across the city.

A total investment of £6.24m since 2019, comprising a £4.34m grant from the national Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, as well as council funding and private sector investment, was used to fund the projects.

The first phase of the programme involved a widescale LED lighting upgrade. A total of 5,440 energy-efficient LEDs were installed in many well-known locations in the city over nine months. The system reduced lighting loads by 76 per cent, which saved the council £205,663 annually and lowered carbon emissions by 437 tonnes each year.

Three new Combined Heat and Power (CHP) installations have also been installed at the Civic Centre, Dimensions Leisure Centre and at Fenton Manor Sports Complex. All the CHP systems will be operational by 2025 to generate electricity and steam for power and heat on-site, saving the council £250,000 per year.

In addition, solar PV installations supply power to Dimensions Leisure Centre and Fenton Manor Sports Complex, adding further to onsite power generation.

Air source heat pumps at Fenton Manor Sports Complex and New Horizons Leisure Centre also provide a lower-carbon way of heating the swimming pools and contribute further to decarbonisation. New pool pumps, filtration and control systems were added. Heat pumps and air handling units have also replaced panel heating at Steel House, an operational council-run building.

To help manage the new technologies, Siemens Desigo CC was deployed as an upgrade to the existing building management system which has improved the optimisation and efficient use of building services across the sites.

The installation at Fenton Manor Sports Complex in particular is claimed to have made the facility one of the best examples of a retrofitted local authority-run leisure centre in the country.