Twenty seven Council buildings to have emissions slashed
Twenty seven Hackney Council buildings are set to have their emissions and heating bills slashed over the next two years as new environmentally friendly heat pumps are installed.
The projects were made possible after two successful bids to the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund, and will see new heat pumps installed at London Fields Lido, Homerton Library, Stoke Newington Town Hall and Library, Hackney Service Centre, Hackney Town Hall and many more locations.
Heat pumps provide heating by capturing heat from the air or ground, and converting this into energy that can heat water.
It’s thought the new energy efficiency measures will save 3,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year, while reducing energy bills for the Council, libraries and schools as they face increasing financial pressures.
The news was presented as part of an update to all councillors last month on progress the Council has made as part of its Climate Action Plan.
This included updates on progress made against the plan’s five key themes: buildings, adaptation, transport, consumption, and environmental quality. Highlights include:
- Half of all schools managed by the Council have now had lighting upgrades, cutting electricity usage
- Up to 50 new electric vehicle charging points installed each month
- The Council being close to installing a further 1MWp capacity from solar panels on its buildings
- An additional 1,200 safe storage spaces for bikes in 202 cycle hangars installed over the past year, as part of the biggest programme in the capital
- Household waste down 2kg per person each year, and combined waste and recycling down 4.7kg per person
- 11 new rain gardens
Read the climate update presented at Full Council.
We’re always looking for external funding to help us reach our climate goals, and it’s exciting to have been successful in securing substantial grants from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund that will bring real impact, not only helping to cut emissions at many of our buildings, but saving heating costs at the same time. We’ve already identified more buildings that could benefit from heat pumps and other measures so we’re ready to bid for more funding as it becomes available.
This forms part of some of the most ambitious action on the climate of any local authority in the country, which I was proud to present to Full Council. Together, we’re creating a greener and healthier Hackney for all of our residents.
Caroline Woodley, Mayor of Hackney