Coventry City Council and E.ON have today announced they are forming a city-wide energy partnership, working together to help improve the energy efficiency of homes and use renewable power to drive down fuel bills and help combat climate change.
E.ON and the city council are the first organisations to join the city’s Low Carbon Task Force which will put energy efficiency and renewable, locally produced power at the heart of Coventry’s plans to become a truly low carbon city by 2020.
The task force will be made up of a range of organisations with a major part to play in Coventry’s future, promoting technical innovation and low carbon solutions in housing, business, transport, jobs and education.
The agreement will also help the city explore:
- the potential to generate power from domestic and large scale solar projects;
- growing the numbers of electric vehicles as a transport alternative;
- large scale district heating schemes;
new skills and the creation of “green” jobs.
Councillor Abdul Khan, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Local Infrastructure, said: “This is a hugely significant scheme for Coventry. Not only will it ensure residents benefit from cutting edge innovation and knowledge around sustainability issues, it will also create local work for local suppliers and help make our city more green and attractive to businesses.
“E.ON is a major player in terms of the UK’s energy future and is also a Coventry-based company and we’re delighted at their confidence in and commitment to our city.”
Paul Golby, E.ON UK’s Chief Executive, said: “By coming together – as councils, companies and communities – we can really start to make a difference.
“There’ll be some big announcements for parts of the city in the coming few months; new technologies and new ways of working. But to do all this we need to make sure we have the right people in place with the right skills, which is why I’m delighted that jobs and training are at the heart of what we’re doing.
“We’ve learnt that, in many cases, local people are better placed to provide the advice and support that works best for their community. That’s why we’re working with National Energy Action to train 1,000 Community Energy Champions around the country to do just that. We hope many of those people will be right here in Coventry.”
To launch the partnership today, Cllr Khan and Dr Golby joined City Council Chief Executive Martin Reeves and representatives from Orbit Housing, Whitefriars Housing Group and Coventry University for a journey around the city on one of the latest electric buses being launched by Travel de Courcey this summer.
The buses also took pupils from Finham and Limbrick Wood primary schools to Cannon Park Primary, the winner of Coventry’s Sustainable Schools Award, to view their work.
Bob Wildman, general manager of Travel de Courcey, said: “We’re the first company in the UK to invest in large electric buses which demonstrates our commitment to green technology to develop our services to the benefit of our passengers and the environment.
“We are extremely proud to be leading the way in our industry and we are looking forward to powering up the buses to take shoppers to and from the city centre in a more environmentally-friendly way.”
