More public buildings and businesses will benefit from over half a billion pounds in funding to help reduce their energy bills and carbon dioxide emissions.
Schools, pools, and hospitals will be supported to make energy-efficient upgrades, with over £557 million in government investment.
Heat pumps, solar panels, insulation, and low energy lighting will be rolled out to reduce the use of fossil fuels across the public sector and strengthen the UK’s energy independence, helping save taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds.
Decarbonising the public sector is expected to save an estimated £650 million per year on average to 2037.
The government has also announced the award of £27.5 million from the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to support businesses with high energy use to reduce their bills and carbon emissions, with new projects including:
Pilkington UK will relocate its glass manufacturing line to a single facility in St Helens, helping to reduce their carbon emissions by producing glass from one upgraded furnace, rather than running two.
Sofidel plans to replace their current natural gas steam boiler with one that can run on green hydrogen at their Leicester paper mill, helping to transform their energy-intensive manufacturing process.
Plastipak UK will upgrade thirteen drying systems at their Wrexham plant to help save energy during the production of preforms and containers for food, drink and dairy products.
Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Lord Callanan said: “From school corridors to the businesses that power up our economy, we want to make sure buildings of all shapes and sizes are supported to deliver net zero.
“By allocating over £557 million today, we are standing steadfast behind our public sector and local businesses, providing the help they need to make the switch to cleaner, homegrown energy.”
