North Tyneside Council has lit up a regional award ceremony which celebrates excellence in the region’s energy efficiency sector.
The council has been named the overall winner of the 2018 North East Local Authority Energy Efficiency Award, part of the North East Energy Efficiency Awards, for its commitment to energy efficiency and carbon reduction.
It was also ‘highly commended’ in the Large Scale Projects category for its flagship energy-saving project, a scheme to replace more than 7,000 traditional sodium street lamps with an eco-friendly LED alternative.
The project is expected to generate an estimated £7.9 million in savings over the next 17 years and will slash carbon emissions by 1,500 tonnes a year, which represents a seven per cent reduction in the council’s carbon footprint.
In 2016, North Tyneside Council adopted the ambitious Low Carbon Plan 2016-2027, which is designed to build upon its carbon reduction activities that have been ongoing since 2010. These activities have focussed on energy reduction and improvements to the energy efficiency of its buildings to reduce its carbon footprint. The Low Carbon Plan incorporates the development of a range of energy generation options as the third stage in working towards the energy hierarchy.
It is now on course to achieve a 37% reduction in carbon emissions by the end of 2017/18, against a 2010/11 baseline, and is working towards a 50% reduction by 2027 as part of its Low Carbon Plan.
Councillor Carl Johnson, cabinet member for the environment, said: “We have made very significant progress towards our carbon reduction targets already, so we are very proud to win this award.
“Getting to grips with the challenge of low energy use and carbon reduction has long been an important priority for North Tyneside Council, and it’s very satisfying to see how this attitude has filtered through and become so deeply ingrained throughout the organisation.
“The street lighting scheme is just one great example of the work we have been doing. The new lights have numerous benefits and are more energy-efficient, longer lasting, and cheaper to run than the traditional lamps
“Low carbon thinking will continue to inform everything we do as a local authority for many years to come, with more emphasis placed on reducing energy use, implementing cost effective efficiency projects and assessing and implementing low carbon energy generation projects.”
The Energy Efficiency Awards aim to provide public recognition for the excellent work the Energy Efficiency sector is doing in implementing these schemes. And to help encourage best practice within the Energy Industry as it works to improve UK housing stock.
