Over £600m up for grabs to decarbonise public buildings

Up to £635m in funding is to be made available to retrofit public buildings, in the latest phase of a government decarbonisation scheme.

Schools, hospitals, leisure centres and town halls could all benefit from efficiency upgrades, such as low carbon heating, heat pumps, double glazing and loft insulation.

The funding is available through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, with public bodies such as NHS trusts, schools and local authorities eligible to apply for grants from September.

According to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the scheme could save taxpayers an average of £650m each year on energy bills.

Earlier rounds of the scheme saw 734 grants awarded to public sector organisations across England, including more than £70m spent on installing water source heat pumps at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham.

>> Also read: Government announces £553m investment to improve energy efficiency in public buildings

The aim of the investment programme, which is being delivered by Salix Finance, is to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75%, compared with 2017 levels, by 2037.

Lord Callanan, business and energy minister, said: “We are already delivering upgrades to hundreds of public buildings across England, making them cheaper to run and saving taxpayers millions of pounds each year.

“By helping even more public sector bodies ditch costly fossil fuels, we are taking an important step towards a more sustainable future while driving economic growth across the country and continuing to support tens of thousands of jobs.”