National energy efficiency solutions company, Anesco, is celebrating after being appointed to manage green upgrades for Westward Housing Group in the south west.
Westward’s two housing associations, Tarka and Westcountry, have awarded contracts to Anesco to undertake a range of improvements in tenant properties, after successfully bidding for funding through the Government’s Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme.
The funding has come from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) who recently put an additional £10m towards a second round of RHPP for social landlords.
Anesco will manage the installation of a range of energy efficiency measures in the tenant properties. For Westcountry they will manage the installation of solar thermal systems, while for Tarka they install a mix of air source heat pumps and solar thermal systems.
Matthew Tunstall, head of energy efficiency at Anesco, said: “We’re delighted to be appointed by Tarka and Westcountry Housing to manage these upgrades. The energy efficiency measures we are installing will not only help to reduce carbon emissions, but will help some of the poorest households to save vital money on spiralling energy bills.”
He added: “We have a strong relationship with both housing associations, having completed other projects for them in recent months and we’re delighted to see that partnership continuing.”
In 2011 Anesco worked with Westcountry on a build project that was one of the largest social housing energy schemes of its kind in the UK. This included the installation and management of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roofs of over 500 Westcountry properties, encompassing sheltered housing schemes, domestic properties and blocks of flats.
Tony Sharland, Westcountry’s Head of Asset Management said: “Helping to manage and wherever possible reduce energy costs is one of the vital services that we provide to our customers, so our main priority was to ensure that the contractor we selected would provide a high standard of service and achieve value for money.
“Anesco working in partnership with Westcountry and Tarka Housing has demonstrated that it is dedicated to providing a high quality, customer-focused service and we look forward to working together with them to introduce a range of energy efficiency measures designed to meet the future needs of our customers, whilst helping them minimise the impact of rising energy costs.”
The RHPP scheme aims to encourage uptake of domestic renewable heat installations across different building stock and demographics, while helping to reduce carbon emissions. The DECC also plans to use the data it captures to learn more about the use and impact of such technologies.
