- £230 million made available to schools, hospitals, leisure
centres and other public buildings in latest round of
funding
- Grants will allow schools, hospitals and other public
buildings to install low-carbon heating and energy efficiency
measures
- More than 1,000 buildings have already received upgrades
helping them save thousands of pounds on energy bills
More schools, hospitals and other public buildings will be
able to reduce energy use, save on bills and cut carbon emissions
for the long-term through the latest round of funding from the
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
From today (Tuesday 10 October), public sector organisations can
bid for a cut of £230 million of government funding to support
significant low-carbon energy upgrades to their buildings,
ranging from heat pumps and solar panels, to new energy
efficiency measures such as insulation and low-energy lighting.
The opening of the latest bidding process coincides with the
3-year anniversary of the scheme, which has so far allocated more
than £2 billion to almost 1,000 public sector organisations
across England, helping them reduce energy bills and carbon
emissions in the long term.
Today’s funding marks another step in the government’s pragmatic
and proportionate approach to reaching net zero, by scaling-up
energy efficiency of buildings across the country and supporting
the switch to more low-carbon heating.
The commitment follows significant progress the UK has already
made towards reaching net zero - cutting all emissions by 48%
between 1990 and 2021, which is faster than any other G7 country.
Decarbonising the public sector with low carbon heating and
energy efficiency measures is also expected to save the public
sector an estimated £650 million per year on average to
2037.
, Minister for Energy
Efficiency and Green Finance, said:
We are a world-leader when it comes to reducing carbon emissions
- and for us to reach our goal of net zero by 2050, we want to
help public bodies like schools and hospitals to do their
bit.
We’ve made fantastic progress so far, helping more than 1,000
schools, hospitals and leisure centres. Today’s funding will now
help even more organisations across England bring their bills
down, while also cutting their emissions.
The funding, announced today, has been made available through
Phase 3c of the scheme, with organisations able to spend the
money allocated in the 2024 to 2025 financial year – on top of
further funding for 2025 to 2026.
Organisations that have benefited from a share of more than £2
billion under the scheme over the past 3 years
include:
- University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS
Trust have saved £54,500 on their annual energy bill thanks to a
new air source heat pump at the Hospital of St Cross in Rugby
and new solar panels and pipework insulation
- Staffordshire County Council have installed air source heat
pumps and solar panels at the new Kingston Centre in Stafford.
The school will also receive new energy efficiency measures,
including a building energy management
system, LED lighting, double glazing, roof insulation,
cavity wall insulation, and pipework insulation. This is due to
save them £79,700 on their annual energy bill
- Upper Norwood Library and the Waterloo Action community
centre in the London Borough of Lambeth will see their energy
efficiency improved – saving the council £5,200 on their annual
energy bill. Air source heat pumps were installed at both sites,
alongside LED lighting, double glazing, insulation and
building energy management systems. Solar panels have also been
installed at the Waterloo Action community centre
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme aims to support the
government’s commitment to reduce emissions from public sector
buildings by 75% by 2037, compared to 2017 levels, as first set
out in the 2021 Heat and Buildings Strategy.
Ian Rodger, Director of Programmes at Salix, said:
Salix is delighted to be delivering the next phase of the Public
Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to support public sector bodies in
their net zero transformation journey. The scheme is empowering
organisations across England to make significant reductions in
their carbon footprint from heating public buildings.
The huge enthusiasm for the scheme shows how much public sector
bodies care about their carbon emissions and Salix is proud to be
able to support them with finance and technical support to
achieve their ambitions.
To apply for funding public sector bodies should visit: Public Sector
Decarbonisation Scheme: Phase 3.
Notes to editors
As the application window of each Public Sector Decarbonisation
Scheme phase closes, a summary report is published which details
application data, including value of applications, sectoral
breakdowns and case studies. They are available to read on the
Public Sector
Decarbonisation Scheme page.
Phase 3 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is investing
£1.425 billion over the financial years 2022 to 23 and 2024 to
2025.