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New plan to help power Oxfordshire using local renewable energy

As the UK transitions away from fossil fuels towards cleaner, renewable energy sources, the energy grid will need to adapt to store and distribute energy more efficiently, ensuring it is available where and when it is needed.

Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council and West Oxfordshire, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils have joined together, under the Future Oxfordshire Partnership, to deliver pioneering local area energy plans (LAEPs) for Oxfordshire, to address climate change and secure cleaner, more affordable energy for the county.

The plans will provide clear, strategic, and community-focused actions for transforming the way local energy such as wind and solar is generated, used, and managed, supporting both local and national climate goals.

They will assess how building improvement measures such as insulation and low-carbon heating can reduce reliance upon fossil fuels. At the same time, they will improve the quality of information necessary to plan and deliver the energy we will need from the electricity grid, ensuring homes and businesses can benefit from cleaner, more reliable power in the years to come.

To develop the plans, the authorities will work with local communities and businesses to identify projects that will help manage the transition to cleaner energy. The plans will identify specific actions for each district, together with more strategic projects to be delivered at the county level.

Cllr David Rouane, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council and Cabinet Member for climate action, said: “We encourage renewable energy use to help tackle climate change. We have plans to install solar panels to several of our buildings, with work due to start in the coming months. It is critical that we have an energy network that can enable the changes that we all need. The LAEP will provide a plan that we can all follow to deliver a future of cleaner, greener energy here in South Oxfordshire and with our neighbours.”

Cllr Bethia Thomas, leader of Vale of White Horse District Council and Cabinet Member for climate action and nature recovery, said: “Work has begun this month to install 600 solar panels on one of our buildings as our council strives to reach net zero.  This is just one example in the Vale of so many similar projects happening across the county. As local renewable energy generation increases, so does the need for a strong energy network which the LAEP should help create.”

Councillor Liz Leffman, Chair of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership and Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “It doesn’t make sense to spend energy, and therefore money, transmitting electricity made by burning gas through wires and pylons over miles and miles to people in Shrivenham, for example, when they could use the cheap energy created at a nearby windfarm or excess electricity made on a neighbour’s roof. This is why we need a local area energy plan.

“This project is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when we work together to tackle challenges. The six councils of Oxfordshire are joining forces and working with the community to make a plan for a greener, fairer energy system.”

The LAEPs will also provide more information to energy network providers, enabling them to plan and invest in necessary electricity grid upgrades ahead of demand. This is key to ensuring that Oxfordshire has the energy capacity to meet its future needs, powering homes, businesses, and delivering locally generated renewable energy.

Ove Arup & Partners have been appointed as lead consultants in the development of the LAEPs. These plans will play a critical role in shaping a sustainable future for Oxfordshire, demonstrating how local collaboration can make a significant impact in addressing global challenges.

Stuart Hallett, from Arup, said: “With a renewed focus on transitioning the UK’s energy system to net zero, supported through new functions such as the Regional Energy Strategic Planner (RESP) and access to investment vehicles targeted at decarbonisation interventions, such as Great British Energy and the National Wealth Fund, it is vital that regional scale LAEPs are developed and shaped to align with these strategic mechanisms as well as enabling local scale decarbonisation to happen.

“As advocates of a whole-system approach to energy planning at this scale, we are delighted to be working on this industry leading work, supported by our partners Global City Futures and Oxford Brookes University, to deliver a stakeholder led plan, placing people, business and communities at the heart of a cost effective and just transition, whilst enabling network infrastructure investment to be planned effectively.”

Ends

For more information about this release contact LAEP@Oxfordshire.gov.uk

To contact specific councils about LAEPs, please use the details below:

For more information about LAEPs in Oxfordshire, please see: https://www.futureoxfordshirepartnership.org/partner-projects/local-area-energy-planning For more information about Ove Arup & Partners, please see: https://www.arup.com/about-us/our-story/