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BRISTOL CITY LEAP
In January, the Mayor signed a worldfirst partnership that will secure over £1 billion of investment to help make Bristol carbon neutral and climate resilient by 2030.
The joint venture with Ameresco Limited, and Vattenfall Heat UK as an essential subcontractor, will transform the way the city generates, distributes, stores and uses energy.
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The ground-breaking venture, known as Bristol City Leap, will rapidly increase the scale and pace of investment in low carbon energy infrastructure such as wind energy, solar energy, low carbon heat networks as well as other energy efficiency measures and smart energy systems.
EXPANDING BRISTOL’S LOW CARBON HEAT NETWORK
During the first five years of the twenty-year partnership, the private sector will invest at least £424 million in a range of large infrastructure projects to create 1,000 new jobs and reduce Bristol’s carbon footprint by 140,000 tonnes. Projects will include a major expansion of Bristol’s award-winning Heat Network, providing local businesses and residents with access to reliable, affordable low carbon heat from sustainable sources.
Analysis has shown that a low carbon heat network is one of the most cost-effective ways to help Bristol achieve its One City Climate Strategy aims by 2030. The council has adopted a Local Development Order (LDO) to give the city’s Heat Network advance permission to be more easily expanded in the years ahead.
The LDO will provide heat networks with similar permissions as other core infrastructure like water, telecoms and electricity. The LDO simplifies and speeds up the planning process of this essential infrastructure for developers, granting permission for the installation of the heat network including pipes, cable, wires and signs. Bristol City Leap has committed to no new fossil fuelled heat sources being attached to this key infrastructure, with existing gas assets phased out by 2030.
The LDO will be subject to appropriate restrictions, conditions, prohibitions, and additional planning permission where necessary to ensure the installations do not have a significant or detrimental impact on its surrounding environment.
