Cheltenham Borough Council has appointed energy innovation specialists Stark to analyse carbon emissions across its Regency buildings, so it can identify opportunities to minimise waste and decrease CO2 in order to be one of the first councils to reach net zero by 2030.
The project, which is a stepping-stone towards Cheltenham’s £10m Green Deal strategy, will involve rolling out the latest metering technologies for both electricity and gas supplies, across multiple sites including listed buildings. Utilising Stark’s analytics tools, Stark ID, Cheltenham will gain a clear overview of its energy consumption from all locations on one conveniently accessible online dashboard. Having oversight of all its energy data in one place, will ensure Cheltenham is in a much stronger position to monitor the impact and success of improvements, and make more informed decisions about future construction plans.
The project has been funded by a £380,000 award from Salix Finance, which provides grants to the public sector to help improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and lower energy bills. Cheltenham Borough Council received the funding in recognition of its aspirations to cut waste and achieve decarbonisation milestones.
Councillor Max Wilkinson, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency, said: “Cheltenham has declared a climate emergency and set an ambitious net zero target for the Council and the wider Borough. Local people will know that our town has a number of old, draughty buildings that consume a lot of energy. Reducing carbon emissions among these will be part of the council’s important community leadership role. Stark’s innovative metering infrastructure will help us demonstrate how easily and efficiently energy waste can be minimised. We hope our project will be useful to other local areas with Regency buildings too.”
Alex Warren, Group CEO for Stark commented: “We are thrilled to be working with Cheltenham Borough Council on planning and successfully executing this project, as we help it realise its decarbonisation milestones. Our full-service offering will ensure the right infrastructure is in place and fully maintained to provide the necessary insights and measurements Cheltenham Borough Council needs to make informed decisions and reach its net zero targets before 2030 and beyond.”
Stark was appointed by Cheltenham Borough Council in June 2021 and the initial phase of the project is due for completion by end of March 2022 with Stark contracted to monitor and analyse the Council’s CO2 emission until 2026. In the next stage of the project, Stark will monitor energy use across all buildings, revealing consumption patterns and identifying alternative low carbon technologies, so Cheltenham is able to introduce changes that will bring it closer to its net zero target.
Header image: The partnership will examine carbon emissions across more than 20 Regency buildings including the Municipal Offices, Pittville Pump Room (pictured above), Cheltenham Town Hall and the Prince of Wales Stadium.
