GSENZH supports Essex County Council to secure £6.2m for decarbonising buildings

Home Case studies GSENZH supports Essex County Council to secure £6.2m for decarbonising buildings

The Greater South East Net Zero Hub helped Essex County Council secure over £6.2 million to decarbonise a number of their managed sites.

Greater South East Net Zero Hub – Solar panels

Essex County Council received PSDS funding to implement five decarbonisation projects, reducing carbon emissions across several key public sites.

How did GSENZH help?

GSENZH provided essential support throughout the funding application process to ensure Essex County Council had the highest chance of success. This included:

Comprehensive Site Assessments: Desktop site assessments undertaken by the Hub using OnGen to gather information about the proposed project locations. The site assessments identified opportunities for technologies such as heat pumps and solar that were suitable for the projects set out by Essex County Council.
Guidance and Coordination: GSENZH coordinated meetings and discussions with Salix Finance, the government’s delivery body for the scheme, to ensure alignment on project objectives and compliance with funding criteria.
Bid Optimisation: By leveraging their technical expertise and project insights, GSENZH helped Essex County Council refine their proposal, ultimately securing £6,281,652 in funding. The Council contributed an additional £2,073,592, further demonstrating their commitment to the decarbonisation initiative.

Project implementation and impact

Following the successful bid, Essex County Council were able to install a number of energy-saving measures across its managed sites.

Air source heat pumps, solar panels and battery storage were installed in Essex Record Office and Goodman House, which are the highest energy consuming sites managed by the authority.

An air source heat pump was also installed at Great Nortley Country park. In total, more than 50 sites received energy saving measures ranging from low carbon heating systems to solar PV and new windows.

GSENZH’s impact

The decarbonisation of public sector buildings play an important role in achieving net zero.

Through the Hub’s expertise and guidance, Essex County Council were able to submit a successful bid and therefore transform many of their managed sites.

Lessons Learned and Next Steps

This project highlighted the value of early-stage assessments and stakeholder engagement in successfully securing funding. Additionally, coordinating closely with Salix Finance ensured Essex’s project met PSDS standards, resulting in a streamlined funding process.

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