Agenda item

Report of the Director of Regeneration and Economy and the Director of Innovation

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee considered a report of the Director of Regeneration and Economy and the Director of Innovation, that would also be considered at the meeting of the Coventry Shareholder Committee on 21^st November 2024, which provided a performance update on the Strategic Energy Partnership. A report on the Strategic Energy Partnership Activity to date for 2024/25 was attached as an Appendix to the report.

The information was being submitted to the Coventry Shareholder Committee to enable the Council’s interest in the Strategic Energy Partnership to be monitored comply the agreed governance process. The report provided an update on Strategic Energy Partnership activity since the approval of the Strategic Business Plan and Annual Business Plan at the meeting of the Shareholders Committee on 23rd April 2024.

The fifteen-year Strategic Energy Partnership between the Council and E.ON was the first of its kind in the UK and had the potential to put Coventry at the forefront of the net zero transition. The Council’s relationship with E.ON would help support the development of ground-breaking projects, with potential funding from E.ON as well as other sources. 

There had been a significant amount of activity over the last six months. Projects underway include a five-year energy supply contract, development of solar/heat pump projects in schools and four council-owned or run buildings, installation of EV charging points and a home energy efficiency programme.  A key milestone that had been achieved was the production of the Coventry energy plan, which provided a detailed baseline of energy infrastructure challenges and opportunities to help prioritisation of future projects the partnership develops going forwards to maximise impact. In addition, there were currently nine social value projects that generated benefits to local communities either delivered or underway which include school education programmes, work placements, a community growing programme and tree planting.

In considering the report, the Board asked questions and received responses on the matters in the following areas:

·  The importance of decarbonisation, but also the need to ensure that there is sufficient supply of energy to be affordable.

·  That this model was unique within Europe and other local authorities were enquiring to see how Coventry’s model works.

·  That the benefits of the way the partnership was set up in Coventry was that it meant projects could be procured more quickly than if there was separate procurement processes for each individual project. Other benefits include legitimacy schemes supported by the Council have with residents.

·  Steps being taken to ensure a range of alternative energy is considered including hydrogen, ground solar, thermal energy from mine water, district heating for new developments,

·  That there will be 2200 jobs created annually through the Energy Plan. The SEP was working with schools and colleges to promote apprenticeships within the sector, with a target of at least 25 in the first 5 years.

·  The work being done with social landlords in the city to decarbonise properties, including ways to make use of economies of scale where privately owned properties are interspersed within social housing.

Members requested that officers consider how to increase the Electric Vehicle Charging points that were accessible to disabled drivers and also that they be provided with details of the contribution that the 2.5 Council funded posts made towards the Strategy Energy Partnership.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee recommends that the Coventry Shareholder Committee approves the recommendations in the report.