Agenda item

This was second witness session of the Committee’s review into Reducing the Council’s Carbon Footprint. Members received information on the following areas:-

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) - This was where organic waste, food, grass, slurry etc, was mixed and broken down to form gas. The gas was then used to power an engine which generated heat and electricity, which was then sold to the grid and local users through a district heat and power network. Reference was made to a new AD plant which had opened in County Durham. This new plant produced 1.56MWh which was enough energy to power 2,000 homes from processing up to 50,000 tonnes of commercial food waste.

Members were informed that the plant in County Durham cost £8m to construct.

Members were informed that a comparable facility within this Borough would provide enough power for a facility such as the Civic Centre.

The Council’s Energy Manager referred to the number of farms within the Borough which could be used for this anaerobic process. Discussion took place on the use of residents’ kitchen caddies and the possible use of food waste for this anaerobic digestion.

Members expressed interest in this area and asked that for the next meeting a paper be produced providing an outline of how such a facility could work in this Borough, utilising the farm waste and food waste within the Borough.

Decentralised Energy – Heat and Power- the Committee was made aware of the recently set up Energy Centre and heat network at Bunhill, in the London Borough of Islington. The Centre provided a heat network in the Bunhill ward and provided cheaper, greener and locally produced energy. The heat network was fed by a local energy centre which produced electricity and heat.

The Committee was informed that this Energy Centre produced more efficient electricity than the central power stations because the normally wasted heat which occurred in central power stations was captured and piped around the heat network in the Energy Centre. The Energy Centre was generally much more efficient, cheaper and greener and provided residents with affordable warmth and helped reduce carbon emissions.

Members expressed an interest in this facility and it was agreed that a site visit be arranged to enable further information to be gathered for the review.

In addition, the Council’s Energy Manager agreed to provide information on the feasibility of such a facility within the Borough. 

Helping Residents switch energy supplier – Members were reminded that at the last meeting reference was made to what could the Council do to broker the best energy deals for residents. Officers reported that a press release would be shortly released which would inform residents that practical advice on switching energy providers and getting the best energy deals would be available from a Council backed helpline. The Council had teamed up with the Energy Helpline to provide this free and impartial service.

Residents who were worried about the impact of rising energy prices which had recently been announced by gas and electricity suppliers would be encouraged to find out if they could save money by swapping to a different company. The Council’s website contained information for residents on energy efficiency and savings which could be made.

Members were informed that this press release would be passed to local newspapers and consideration could also be given to producing flyers for local libraries and for street champions to distribute.

Officers were also asked to give consideration to extending the initiative to local businesses but it was acknowledged that those businesses that rented or leased their premises could not make decisions on energy suppliers. However, it was agreed that where possible, local businesses, perhaps with the help of the local Chambers of Commerce be included in the initiative. 

Council’s Vehicle Fleet - The Council’s Transport Services Manager reported that the Council’s vehicle fleet comprised of around 170 vehicle and included 40 Large Commercial vehicles, 75 Light Commercial vehicles, 18 Passenger Vehicles, 26 items of Plant, 5 Diesel Cars, 3 Petrol Cars, one Electric Car Peugeot I on, two Electric Vans Ford Transit Connects and one Hybrid Car Toyota Prius.

Members were informed that all the Council’s large commercial vehicles were compliant with Transport for London (TfL) low emissions zone, with some vehicles having been fitted with particulate filters to comply.

Reference was made to vehicle procurement over the last 2 years which had led to a number of new vehicles on the Fleet with Euro 5 engines and reductions in emissions. These included new vehicles for the Waste Collection Service, Street Cleaning and Highway Maintenance.

Fuel Information – The total fuel usage for the Council’s vehicle fleet was around 65,000 litres per month, with the vehicles calculated at undertaking 1.5 million miles per year.

The Committee was informed that the fuel was supplied under a procurement contract from Hall Fuels and was an ultra low sulphur diesel and was stored at Harlington Depot. Reference was made to the new refuse vehicles which had shown improved miles per gallon figures compared to the older vehicles (up to 10%).

Reference was made to a possible alternative fuel which could be derived from anaerobic waste and officers were asked to provide more information on the feasibility of this at a future meeting.

Electric Car Charging Points – The Committee was provided with information on the usage of these points throughout the Borough. There were 15 electric vehicle charging point sites in Hillingdon available for the public to use and details of their location were provided.  These units were provided and managed by two companies; Chargemaster and Elektromotive. 

Over the past three years £14,893 had been spent towards facilitating the use of electric vehicles with the funding coming out of the Transport for London, Local Implementation Plan budget. With regard to the electric charging points, the original cost of installing these had been funded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board and by Scottish Southern Electric.  This had been part of the Ford Battery and Electric Vehicle Project of which this Council was a partner.

The Committee asked for more information on electric charging points, particularly more detail on the use of each charging point and the levels of ownership of electric vehicles within the Borough. In addition Members thought it would be useful for information on what facilities other neighbouring local authorities provided, together with information on any electric car dealerships which were in the Borough. 

Procurement - Energy Contracts 2013/14 – The Council’s Energy Manager provided Members with the background to the Council’s current energy contracts and the proposals for the Council to procure energy on a greener tariff. This would have obvious consequences of reducing CO2 and reducing this Council’s Climate Change Levy. The Committee was encouraged by this strategy and the move to greener energy.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the information provided as part of the witness session be noted and form part of the evidence for the review.

2.   That officers be asked to undertake the actions outlined above for the next and future meetings of this Committee.