Manchester, 2012-Mar-29
Today (Thursday 29 March) Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate
Greater Manchester’s Energy Plan – Connected outlines the region’s energy priorities and has been created by a partnership of local authorities, businesses, academics and key figures from the energy sector. It also outlines how the region’s approach to energy will help to meet Greater Manchester’s ambitious target of a 48% cut in CO2 emissions by 2020.
Charlie Parker, Chief Executive of Oldham Council and lead for AGMA’s Environment Commission said: “Greater Manchester faces a number of energy challenges over the coming years including increasing demand, rising fuel prices, a drop in UK energy generation and a need to update our energy distribution infrastructure. This plan has brought together the public and private sector, academics and energy experts to develop real solutions to these challenges. Our focus, as always, is on creating economic opportunities from the energy sector.”
Greater Manchester currently spend £5 billion on its energy bills every year and very little of this is spent within the local economy. Working alongside key private sector partners, AGMA’s Environment Commission and the GM Energy Group, aim to create local energy products, services and infrastructure to ensure Greater Manchester gets a share of the £112 billion energy market.
Also included are plans to encourage more customer control of energy production and consumption – reducing energy costs for residents and businesses, increasing household’s disposable income, reducing fuel poverty and reducing business running costs. This approach is already being pioneered by local companies – including Peel Energy and The Co-operative Group.
The plans include:
- Introducing additional wind turbines, hydro plants and solar technologies
to produce renewable energy - Increasing the use of bio gas heat and power systems – using gases created from waste treatment to produce gas or electricity.
- Creating new community energy schemes – allowing local residents and businesses to buy a stake in energy production, for example, Oldham’s Saddleworth Hydro scheme where local residents acts as shareholders and share the profits of all energy produced
- Roll out of energy efficient technologies to cut consumption – including
LED lighting and low carbon buildings - Renewing and replacing our ageing energy distribution network to cope
with increasing demands from digital industries and to allow for two way
transfer of power from new energy generation, for example, solar panels.
Greater Manchester is already a hub for research and development into energy. The plan also outlines how local businesses can capitalise on this knowledge and turn these new technologies into saleable products. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey said: “It’s great to see local businesses, councils and industry in Manchester working together to help cut carbon and get on a cleaner, greener energy footing. We need to move towards a sustainable, affordable and low carbon energy future in the UK and Manchester, with their new Energy Plan, is helping to lead the way.”
The Secretary of State was visiting Manchester as part of a visit to the North West, which also included the Energy Innovation Centre at Chester and Manchester United Football Club at Old Trafford.
Siemens is one of the region’s largest employers has a £28bn global environmental portfolio of sustainable technologies and solutions and plays a major role in the region’s ‘green economy’ and supply chain. The launch, which included a tour of Siemens’ Renewable Energy Engineering Centre, formed a fitting backdrop for the City’s plan to drive growth of the region’s low carbon economy.
Siemens already plays a key role in the region’s low carbon economy with businesses focused on advanced manufacturing and high end engineering supporting new sectors, such as Renewables, and sustainable buildings and energy management. Siemens building technologies have been used in Manchester’s Civil Justice Centre to achieve increased energy efficiency and cost savings. Siemens’ hybrid technology is at the heart of the City’s new Shuttlebuses.
Using the latest drive technology, the buses are more efficient than diesel buses, saving up to 30% of costs, reducing exhaust emissions and improving air quality. Siemens is also helping Greater Manchester reduce energy bills across the whole of its traffic signalling network through innovative technology, as part of its longterm maintenance contract.
Siemens Energy Transmission business is based in Manchester. From here its skilled design and engineering teams deliver major grid and substation projects in the UK. Siemens connects 60% (by megawatt) of all offshore wind power generation in the UK, and also delivers projects internationally. Siemens is heavily involved in the Crown Estates offshore wind development programme. This programme now moving into its biggest ever phase, Round 3, has included many significant projects in the North West during earlier Rounds (1 and 2), such as Burbo Banks, Liverpool and Rhyl Flats and the 2 billion Euro Gwynt-y-Môr project off the Welsh coast.
The Manchester grid team is also delivering major interconnector projects to help balance energy supply and deliver energy to where needed, between regions and countries. Last year the team completed the BritNed project, linking Britain and the Netherlands, and in February this year won the Western Link project, which will connect Scotland to the North West of England.
John Willcock, managing director of Siemens Energy Transmission UK and Ireland said: “Such projects, really help put the region at the centre of green infrastructure development and provide a major boost to the region’s economy and most importantly create new jobs and skills. “ Last year, Siemens announced that it would create up to 340 new green engineering jobs in the North West to support future renewables projects.
Siemens is making multi-million investments in its own infrastructure in Manchester, with support from the Regional Growth Fund, including the development of the Renewable Energy Engineering (REE) Centre, visited by the Minister today. The REE Centre will house Siemens’ North West Europe Centre of Competence for Grid Connections. There are also wider plans, being developed in conjunction with Manchester City Council and the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership to develop the Sir William Siemens House premises in West Didsbury into a Sustainable Business Park.
Commenting on today’s events, Paul Maher, managing director of Siemens Transmission and Distribution said: “The Greater Manchester Energy Plan is a hugely positive step in helping to create the low carbon economy, which the region needs. Siemens is already contributing to that vision and is fully committed to supporting this in the future. We welcome the Plan, which will really help focus attention and resources on delivering a truly sustainable future for the City and region. “
- ENDS -
Notes
Siemens was established in the United Kingdom 169 years ago and now employs 12,972 people in the UK. Last year’s revenues were £4.4 billion*. As a leading global engineering and technology services company, Siemens provides innovative solutions to help tackle the world’s major challenges, across the key sectors of energy, industry, infrastructure & cities and healthcare.
Siemens has offices and factories throughout the UK, with its headquarters in Frimley, Surrey. The company’s global headquarters is in Munich, Germany. For more information, visit www.siemens.co.uk
* Data includes intercompany revenue. Data may not be comparable with revenue reported in
annual or interim reports.
For more information, contact:
Rachel Odams
PR Manager
Siemens plc
Tel. +44 (0)1604696614
Mob: +44 (0)7808 824209
Rachel.odams@siemens.com
‘Connected': Greater Manchester Energy Plan
http://www.agma.gov.uk/commissions1/environment_commission/index.html
The plan incorporates:
• Changing energy systems, use and behaviour
• Identifying opportunities and locations for new low carbon energy generation and distribution infrastructure,
• Harnessing the substantial economic opportunities arising from the changing ways in which Greater Manchester and the world will meet its future energy requirements;
• Supporting partners in investing more than £500 million to make our energy distribution networks fit for purpose in a low carbon economy;
• Making sure we have the skills, expertise and knowledge needed to deliver GM’s future energy system;
• Recognising that the majority of investments and actions will need to be market and private sector driven, to forge and maintain strong relationships and partnerships and
• Capitalise on, and grow our substantial energy systems research and development and
AGMA Environment Commission
AGMA’s Environment Commission brings together the ten Greater Manchester authorities alongside key partners in the private and public sectors. The aim of the commission is to tackle climate change, energy, green space and waterways, transport, waste and other issues.
