Energys Group, one of the UK’s leading decarbonisation delivery companies, has welcomed the positive impact being made by the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), and believes it is playing a critical role in delivering decarbonisation across the public estate.
In announcing the latest round of successful projects to be awarded funding, the Government also revealed that the implementation of affordable, low carbon heating and energy efficiency upgrades across public sector buildings – including hospitals, schools, libraries, museums and leisure centres – will save local authorities and taxpayers an average of £650 million per year on energy bills over the next 15 years.
The first round of funding allocated through Phase 3 of PSDS will provide grants – totalling £553 million – to 160 public sector organisations across England, forming part of £1.425 billion that will be issued through Phase 3 until 2025.
As well as cutting the use of expensive fossil fuels and saving millions of pounds on energy bills, the scheme provides a major opportunity on the path to reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75%, compared to 2017 levels, by 2037.
Whilst the primary objective of PSDS is to help decarbonise heating, the scheme has also made funds available for other energy efficient technologies that can make a real difference to carbon and energy cost reduction – including LED lighting. Energys Group calculated that it has been responsible for the delivery of approximately 20% of the total spend on lighting upgrades as part of the PSDS, having been involved in over 70 projects that were given the go-ahead under PSDS equating to a total value of around £6m.
Kevin Cox, Managing Director of Energys Group, commented: “The announcement of the expected savings local authorities will make as a result of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funding clearly shows the positive impact it is having across the public estate. By boosting the implementation of energy efficient and low-carbon technologies, it is providing a major opportunity on the path to realising the UK’s 2050 Net Zero emissions targets.
As Phase 3 of the scheme continues to roll out over the next three years, it is critical that public sector organisations continue to take of the funding being made available. For anyone looking for advice on how they can benefit from the scheme, Energys Group is on hand to provide specialist support and guidance.”
Guidance on how to apply for Phase 3b will be published in July, with the next round of applications expected to open in September.
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