Agenda item

To consider the report of the Chief Officer Climate, Energy and Green Spaces which provides an update on the delivery of Public Sector Decarbonisation Programme (PSDS3a).

The Chief Officer Climate, Energy and Green Spaces submitted a report to the Committee regarding the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

In attendance;

Nazar Soofi – Head of Decarbonisation and Planned Maintenance

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) is a government project, funded through a non-departmental public body (Salix) to reduce carbon emissions from public sector buildings 

The Head of Decarbonisation and Planned Maintenance presented the item which provided an update on the recent delivery of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Programme (PSDS3a). PSDS3a delivered air source heat pumps and solar panels at 10 sites across Leeds.

The Committee noted the following highlights of the PSDS3a;

·  The Aireborough Leisure Centre had a 90% carbon emissions reduction through heat pump optimisation

·  The funding was reduced, from PSDS £500/tonne carbon reduction, to £325/tonne carbon reduction

PSDS3b project delivery has commenced, with 15 sites confirmed in estimation scope. The sites include PSDS3b –

·  8 primary schools

·  1 secondary school

·  2 leisure centres

·  4 heritage buildings

The Head of Decarbonisation and Planned Maintenance outlined some of the challenges facing PSDS3a;

·  Simpler projects were already completed in earlier programmes

·  Hybrid systems have been disallowed

·  Northern Power Grid (NPG) has had a backlog of similar work requests from other northern councils

·  7 substations have been identified for installation which could lead to longer wait times

·  There is one year to design and install the systems or the funding is returned to Salix

The Head of Decarbonisation and Planned Maintenance noted that the PSDS3c will be announced in due course, at which point the new criteria will be examined and appropriate sites will be selected.

The Head of Decarbonisation and Planned Maintenance and the Committee had a discussion, highlights of which include;

·  The Head of Decarbonisation and Planned Maintenance confirmed that the PSDS criteria specified only sites with systems older than 10 years. Buildings are required to provide a 12% contribution to the installation. To ensure the long term sustainability of the programme, mainstream brands for parts have been primarily chosen so that they may easily be replaced if needed. The Chief Officer noted that hydrogen conversion is not currently planned for Leeds and systems need to be upgraded in the meantime as many gas systems have passed their intended life span and need replacing now.

·  To account for the criterion disallowing hybrid systems, the installations have included four units to prevent total system failure in the case of one unit failing.

·  The solar panel programme planning permission has already been applied for PSDS3b, with the air pump planning permission due to be applied for when the design phase has been completed. The equipment has been planned to be ordered in July, with installation commencing in September.

·  The life span of the air pump heaters is around 25 years, at which point there will have been new technological and legislative developments, requiring the Council of the day to make their own design choices. The Chief Officer noted that air pump heaters and other carbon reduction technology will eventually exceed price parity with conventional technology until it is the cheaper option.

·  The installation of a substation takes around six months and is a possible source for delays, and therefore commissioning plans have included a temporary generator with substation connection taking place last.

The Head of Decarbonisation and Planned Maintenance requested that Members encourage eligible public sector buildings in their wards to join PSDS3c, as some have been unsure that they have the space for the systems.

The Chair thanked The Head of Decarbonisation and Planned Maintenance for attending the Committee.

RESOLVED -  That the contents of the report be noted.