Funding from the government has been allocated to Devon County Council, to support research into how carbon emissions can be reduced.
Investment comes following a bid to the South West Net Zero Hub for a share of the hub’s £1 million fund. After being successful, the council will benefit from almost £200,000 of funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, to be split between two projects.
One of the projects will see £97,000 being committed to research into how feasible it would be to use redundant landfill sites for the development of new solar energy farms. This comes as there are restrictions on what former landfill sites can be used for once they have been capped by topsoil.
By using the sites as solar farms, it would enable the council to generate renewable, clean energy, whilst making use of a site that would generally be left untouched. This project is also fitting as the fixings required for solar panels don’t go too deep, so there would be little disruption to the waste below the topsoil.
Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, Cllr Andrea Davis, said:
“This money will allow us to investigate if these sites can be used to generate clean, green energy and potentially income for the council.
“We are really excited to be taking forward these kinds of projects, and if they can be delivered it will help us achieve our goal of a net-zero Devon by 2030.
“Solar farms can be designed in such a way that they can complement and enhance biodiversity and we are looking with interest at similar projects currently underway in Plymouth and Torquay.”
The second project would involve £99,851 being used to develop an investible plan to decarbonise an industrial estate in the county. This plan would look into how feasible it would be to use the industrial estate to generate renewable energy through methods such as solar PV installations, green hydrogen, and district heating.
Should this research be successful, the model can be rolled out over a number of other sites around Devon, and further afield.
Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills, added:
“I’m pleased we have been awarded this funding. Heathfield industrial estate is an important hub for the local economy providing jobs and services in the local area.
“The decarbonisation of the estate would be hugely beneficial; for instance, if local business were powered using renewable energy it would reduce their carbon footprint and potentially reduce energy costs for local businesses.
“We hope to be able to create (a) replicable business model for industrial estates of this size across Devon.”
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