This blog site is no longer in use. The MLEI Cambridgeshire project is ongoing and you can find out more at www.mleicambs.org.uk
An important milestone was reached for the MLEI project last week, following Cambridgeshire County Council Cabinet’s decision to proceed with a phased approach to developing a Low Carbon Investment Fund, and offering loan finance to schools through Energy Performance Contracting.
Cabinet agreed to:
• Set up a Fund using public borrowing
• Develop and evolve the fund during the next 6-9 months to attract further public and private sector monies
• Procure a supplier for energy performance contracting for schools and public buildings
• To offer schools access to loans on a first come first served basis
The project team are proceeding with procurement of a supplier for energy performance contracting, using an existing framework contract. We have also commenced our schools engagement programme with a view to getting the first funding packages for investment developed later this year.
Last week the Department for Energy and Climate Change released its first ever ‘Community Energy Strategy’. The Strategy is all about encouraging energy efficiency and low carbon energy at local scale, through grassroots and local authority led activity.
DECC’s definition of ‘community energy’ is deliberately broad, ranging from home insulation advice and collective switching schemes to community energy generation projects. But what is interesting is how Strategy highlightsr the role of local authorities in creating and supporting opportunities for community energy. This can be through:
• Provision of information and advice
• Coordination of community activity
• Support through the planning process and encouraging communities to incorporate energy into their neighbourhood plan
• Provision of loan funds and financial support.
Clearly the last point is where MLEI Cambridgeshire fits in – we even got a mention in the Secretary of State’s covering letter! MLEI Cambridgeshire is currently in the first phase of developing and testing our Low Carbon Investment Fund on Cambridgeshire County Council’s own buildings and schools, and we would like to make the offer of loan finance available to community groups in due course.
Seasons Greetings!
A formal note of our Community Event on the 21st November is now available Notes from MLEI Community Event 21st Nov.
The purpose of the event was to bring together participants from the Cambridgeshire Renewables Infrastructure Framework (CRIF) project which was the predecessor of the MLEI project, to update them on MLEI and the structures currently being discussed to facilitate development of low carbon infrastructure.
In some very lively and challenging discussions some questions arose that have provoked much further thought from the MLEI team…
• To what extent is the model of low carbon investment fund and low carbon delivery unit a ‘done deal’? Certainly there needs to be flexibility within the model to accommodate new ideas and opportunities. The MLEI project team are now looking at a phased development model which will continue to evolve as further investment projects are developed. This model needs to be able to adapt as circumstances change.
• Is the level of ambition appropriate? This is an interesting one as a certain level of ambition is necessary to get projects like this off the ground. Our view is that the longer term our ambitions around overall investment levels are appropriate in that it sets clearly the vision for what we’re trying to achieve. However, its important that we take smaller, incremental steps in the shorter term, testing and refining as we go, sharing our learning and open to collaboration. This is a more pragmatic approach that recognises the many challenges faced in delivering low carbon infrastructure.
• How can MLEI help community scale projects? There are three aspects of work here for the MLEI team:
First is around developing the project pipeline – a major priority for the project. This includes some feasibility work on community buildings retrofit, which Huntingdonshire District Council are progressing, but also includes our work looking at retrofit of schools and other public buildings using an Energy Performance Contracting arrangement to manage the work.
Second is the issue of how we can use our existing skills and knowledge to support community groups to develop projects. This is an issue we would like to build into considerations for the role of the Low Carbon Development Unit, especially beyond the initial MLEI project period up to 2015.
Third and related to the previous point is how we can ensure the Low Carbon Development Unit (LCDU) and Low Carbon Investment Fund (LCIF) is properly financially supported during the first few years of operation. A proposal for public funds from the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership has been submitted, seeking funds to support investments, and to support the functioning of the LCDU.
An invitation to consider the Cambridgeshire Renewables Infrastructure Framework and what happened next…
Before MLEI there was CRIF – the Cambridgeshire Renewable Infrastructure Framework project!
The CRIF Project spent nine months building up the evidence base for what levels of energy we will need in the future in Cambridgeshire to sustain and grow our businesses, manage rising fuel costs and secure local energy supplies to build energy resilience, self sufficiency and local jobs.
As you all know, the work didn’t stop there. The Mobilising Local Energy Investment Project responds directly to the questions raised by CRIF – specifically the need for upfront investment in low carbon infrastructure on a scale that brings multiple benefits for the local economy and communities.
We are running a short event on the 21st November to re-engage all of the communities that were involved in the CRIF project, specifically to share proposals for the Low Carbon Investment Fund and Low Carbon Development Unit – a financial and delivery arrangement that would help deliver low carbon energy projects on a greater scale and at a faster pace than ever before in Cambridgeshire.
The event is open, so anyone wishing to find out a bit more about the project is welcome.
Date: Thursday 21st November 2013
Time: 16:00 – 18:00pm
Venue: Hauser Forum, West Cambridge University Site, Cambridge
Price: FREE
Please register to attend on eventbrite, or contact mlei@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
by Tuesday 19th November with any queries.
You cannot fail to have noticed that energy is big in the news at the moment!
The media coverage has revolved around two main areas:
The big six energy companies – their profits, delivery obligations and contested claims about these – and the rising cost of energy for their customers
and,
Blackouts – our resilience (or lack of) to peaks in energy demand and what we should do about it – be that through new nuclear and other sources of energy on home ground, or increased reliance on imported energy and the risks that entails.
The debate rages with politicians challenging the energy companies over recent price hikes, and energy companies applying pressure on government over green levies. In the meantime there is no clear consensus on the question of how our energy needs are to be met, and the role of small scale low carbon energy in the broader energy mix. Government may have given the go-ahead to the UK’s first nuclear power station in a generation but it will be 10 years before Hinkley is helping power the country and the guaranteed minimum price will be double today’s price.
It’s possible that the confusion this creates, risks undermining future investment in low carbon energy infrastructure.
Having said that the Renewable Energy Association has recently reported increased signs of confidence in the renewable energy market, and renewables enjoy higher levels of public support than any other energy generation technology.
There are some positives to share from a local perspective too:
Projects like MLEI are poised to help ensure that Cambridgeshire can benefit from a higher proportion of its energy mix coming from renewable sources – that is low carbon sources that do not rely on imports, and have the added benefit of supporting local low carbon related businesses (installers etc.) In fact according to the Treasury, investment in energy has greatest potential in terms of scale and dispersal across the country, than any other sector.
MLEI delivery will also create the opportunity for more community based schemes, whereby heat and electricity can be provided and even sold directly to customers and as a result costs can be kept low.
This is the first in a series of posts from the MLEI Cambridgeshire coordinators at the County Council, looking at some of the contextual isues for the project. Do please use the comments sections to give us your feedback.
Ed Miliband’s’speech at the recent Labour Party Conference has kick-started a new public debate on energy, triggered by the proposal for a 20-month energy price freeze.
Labour’s proposal is intended as an interim measure whilst the bigger question of how energy markets in the UK are going to run over the next few years, is addressed. On the 25th September, an open letter issued by Mr Miliband to the energy companies aimed to provide more clarity on the matter, stating the first thing that needed to be done was to legislate, “to build competition and transparency into the market.”
So whilst debate rages on the likely impacts of an energy price freeze and whether energy companies will simply raise prices significantly before the freeze starts, the real question is, “where will greater competition and investment in the energy markets come from?”
It is increasingly recognised that local authorities have a role to play in the provision of energy services to their residents and businesses. Councils like Cambridgeshire County Council are already involved in energy decisions around planning, large contracts for the purchase of gas and electricity for public buildings and street lighting; the County, District and City Councils are also closely involved in the delivery of energy efficiency improvements to homes. More recently, including through the MLEI project, Cambridgeshire is looking at how it can support development of more local renewable energy infrastructure.
We are not talking about exclusive municipal provision of energy; there are many other models. For example, a new heat network set to go live shortly is being developed by Southwark Council with Veolia, a private company, taking heat from the SEL CHP energy from waste plant. Such a system will provide the delivery of cheaper heat to tenants and help protect against future price shocks when international gas prices spike. Last week Aberdeen Heat & Power, a community-based not-for-profit set up by the Council, scooped a Global District Energy Climate Award in New York. A key feature that impressed the international judging panel was the commitment to providing benefit to the community through affordable low carbon energy. The key point is that both are local and resulted from initiatives made by the local Council. We hope that future energy schemes in Cambridgeshire, supported via the financial mechanisms put into place by the MLEI project, can similarly generate power locally that also benefits local people. This might be through lower prices, more reliable supply or support for the local economy through jobs and business development.
With these sorts of projects in mind, it is possible to envision a future where energy is provided through a multiplicity of businesses – local, national and international – with a variety of delivery models. Not just the ‘Big Six’ energy companies. This will provide customers with real choices in a competitive market.
Impington Village College (IVC) is one of Cambridgeshire’s schools leading the way in managing its energy use. Earlier this year IVC signed a contract that will enable the school not just to cut its energy use and carbon footprint, but also to create a source of long-term revenue. Capital works to improve the energy efficiency of the school, a behavioural change programme and a biomass boiler will be funded by Skanska as part of the agreement. IVC will pay back the capital costs over 10 years using the savings from energy bills and revenue income from biomass.
This is an approach that is very exciting for the MLEI project. We plan to commission a similar service that we can offer to all of Cambridgeshire’s schools, with the finance coming through the project’s Low Carbon Investment Fund.
We will be discussing this and the MLEI project in general at an event on the 8th October at IVC. The event is specifically for local politicians, and we will brief Cambridgeshire County, District and City Councillors on the issues of energy security, energy demand and possible solutions for Cambridgeshire – including the approach outlined above.
For more details about the event please contact the project team on mlei@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
The Community Renewables Economy: Starting up, scaling up and spinning out – Jelte Harnmeijer.
This is a very interesting report from Respublica about how community energy schemes can become more commonplace, and the kind of policy environments needed to make that change. In this way, it is very supportive of the approach we are taking in Cambridgeshire, aiming to increase the amount of low carbon energy infrastructure in the county by facilitating access to finance, thus helping to improve energy security and minimise price increases by increasing competition in the energy market.
The report challenges councils to step up to the challenge of community renewables, proposing that local authorities are well placed to begin to both invest and financially benefit from community energy projects. It says local authorities should establish links with local housing associations, businesses and churches, as well as social finance organisations like Big Society Capital to explore these opportunities. Currently MLEI Cambridgeshrie is looking at investment in the County Council’s own assets, and also exploring options for retrofit of community owned buildings. Are partnerships with the community sector the next step for MLEI Cambridgeshire?
Jane Frank
sherylfrench2013
Mobilising Local Energy Investment 