Low carbon zones in London

News London 2009
, September 3
 * London Mayor announces 10 low carbon neighbourhoods in the capital

Funding
Each of the winning boroughs will be awarded at least £200,000 to pioneer energy –busting measures in their low carbon zones.

The low carbon zones will be funded by the London Development Agency's budget for climate change activities.

Targets
The zones have a target to deliver 20.12 per cent of carbon emissions savings by 2012 and are bringing together local authorities, community organisations, residents, businesses and utilities to work in partnership in a targeted geographic area. The winning low carbon zones on average will save over 23 per cent by 2012. The zones will cover over 13,000 residential properties, around 1,000 shops and businesses, 20 schools as well as a hospital, places of worship and community centres.

The Mayor has pledged to cut emissions in London by 60 per cent by 2025 and these zones will showcase how this can be achieved using existing and new technologies. The Mayor will be helping Londoners to become more energy efficient through a London- wide homes energy efficiency programme set to launch next year (2010).

The zones
Some of the measures that each of the low carbon zones will be taking forward are: Barking Town Centre (London Borough of Barking and Dagenham) · Offering low cost offers of insulation and heating to low income households · Setting up charging points for electric vehicles · Increasing the decentralised energy network in the area.

Muswell Hill (London Borough of Haringey) · Working with a major local retailer to use their roof space to install photovoltaic panels which can then be used to power local homes and save residents money. · Installing measures to make community buildings, including the local library, more energy efficient.

Archway (London Borough of Islington) · Green ‘energy doctor’ programme – energy doctors will offer residents an audit of how they can make their homes more energy efficient, from small measures such as installing energy efficient lightbulbs and radiator panels, to support for households wanting to make bigger changes. · Setting up apprenticeship schemes for local residents to train to become ‘energy doctors’.

Brixton (London Borough of Lambeth) · Low carbon heating will be supplied to residents from Kings College Hospital. · Working to make existing community buildings more energy efficient. Lewisham Town Centre (London Borough of Lewisham) · Working with designers to look at innovative ways to make period housing in a local conservation area more energy efficient. Looking at solid wall insulation and other measures to create carbon savings without spoiling the look of the housing.

Wandle Valley (London Borough of Merton) · Setting up an apprentice scheme for local residents to train to become ‘energy doctors’. · Looking at opportunities to extract energy from waste to heat homes and community buildings.

Ham and Petersham (London Borough of Richmond upon Thames) · Working with Oxford University to help local residents to become more energy efficient with a smart metering scheme. This will involve monitoring how much energy is used in the home and then giving an analysis as to where savings can be made. Residents will then be supported to make changes through offers of grants and loans to make their homes more energy efficient.

Peckham (London Borough of Southwark) · Securing private investment to help upgrade heating systems in flats to communal heating systems and provide heat metering. · Working with local SME businesses to train local residents to help provide an advice service for residents about how to make their homes more energy efficient.

Hackbridge(London Borough of Sutton) · Working with a local retailer to offer low cost insulation to local residents · Working with local schools to install energy efficiency measures and solar panels and to educate the next generation. Running competitions between groups of households with rewards for those who save the most energy and offering Pay As You Save options to help manage the costs of installing energy efficiency measures and solar panels. · Looking at new ways of supplying heat efficiently to older homes using decentralised energy, only used previously in the UK on larger buildings

Queen’s Park (London Borough of Westminster) · Working with energy suppliers to upgrade heating systems on local estates to Combined Heat and Power (CHP). Saving residents money and cutting carbon. · Setting up electric vehicle charging points.