Agenda item

Report of the Director of Regeneration and Economy.

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee considered a report of the Director of Regeneration and Economy and received a presentation, which provided an update on performance of the Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP) against the Strategic Business Plan for 2024-2029 and the Annual Business Plan for 2024/2045, which had both been approved by the Coventry Shareholder Committee at its meeting on 23^rd April 2024.

The Committee noted that the report would be considered by the Coventry Shareholder Committee at its meeting scheduled for 4^th November 2025.

The 15-year SEP between the Council and E.ON is the first of its kind in the UK.  It has the potential to put Coventry at the forefront of the UK’s clean energy transition, benefitting residents and businesses in terms of helping to lower bills, generate clean local energy and create new jobs and skills.  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.

The Committee noted that the Annual Business Plan 2024/25 was the SEP’s first business plan and had delivered a huge amount of activity, laying the foundation for significant impacts in future years.  This had included the creation of the Coventry Energy Plan, which provides an evidence base for the SEP to build momentum and prioritise the most impactful projects in the years ahead.  In the first 18 months of partnership, 11 projects entered contract, with 22 in development, including a pipeline of innovation projects and £1.3m in social value delivery being committed.

A pipeline of innovation programmes had been developed and projects were underway which support the most vulnerable.  This included a battery storage and time of use tariff pilot which supported some of the most vulnerable people in Coventry to reduce their bills, and drone energy efficiency survey pilot for 4,000 properties in Hillfields to help identify residents eligible for grant funding to improve energy efficiency.

The report indicated that investment in the SEP from inception in September 2023 to March 2025 was £1.9m, taking into account development expenditure, capital expenditure, operational expenditure, grant funding and deployment of a community benefit fund.  The resource cost of delivering all the projects from September 2023 to March 2025 cost £3.5m.  However, the Council’s contribution to this was only £0.3m because of the Partnership. 

A significant requirement of the SEP is to generate community benefit. £1.3m has been committed in social value delivery, including engagement with 860 school children, care leavers work placements, tree planting in Wyken and community growing projects in some of the least green parts of the city, including Hillfields and Stoke.

Members of the Committee asked questions and received answers from officers in respect of the following:

·  The planning application for Lenton’s Lane Solar Farm has been amended to address some of the residents’ concerns with the initial application and is expected to be considered by Planning Committee this calendar year.

·  The solar farm will provide an increased income through rental of the land.  Any profits will be shared with E.ON, but the levels are not known at the moment.

·  The SEP is working in partnership with social housing providers and private developers to look at energy efficiency.

·  That all of the children that had been part of the programmes were from Coventry and a menu of programmes would be offered to schools.

·  That the Council can and are working with other energy providers, the partnership with E.ON does not preclude that.

·  Each project has to demonstrate value for money and social impact as part of the gateway process to progress.

RESOLVED that, the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee note the report and support the recommendations to the Coventry Shareholder Committee.