The Welsh government has green lit a multi-million-pound energy efficiency project to help local authorities in the country reduce their carbon emissions.
The initiative, approved last week, will see Monmouthshire Council receive £4.5 million worth of funding through Wales’ ‘Invest to Save Green Growth Fund’, which will help it operate a solar farm on council-owned land.
Meanwhile Flintshire Council is to receive £3.13 million to contribute towards a rollout of 11,000 LED streetlights which are expected to save the authority roughly £360,000 each year.
Annual maintenance costs are also forecast to fall due to an expected reduction in the number of faults.
All savings and revenue generated from projects supported by the fund will repay the initial investment and then help support local community projects by leaving the council with a residual net income.
The recent allocation effectively doubles the amount of funding that has been issued through the Green Growth Wales initiative to £14 million and Lesley Griffiths, cabinet secretary for environment and rural affairs, lauded the initiative’s work in support of public sector energy efficiency projects.
“I am delighted we have been able to support these ambitious projects, which will save significant money for the future. These projects have huge potential and all public bodies should be developing green growth projects like this to deliver decarbonisation in Wales,” she added.
Mark Drakeford, cabinet secretary for finance, added: “At a time of reducing budgets, public services need to think and work differently. I’m very pleased to see the fund will not only enable the council to generate savings but also become more energy efficient, improving the wellbeing of communities across the county.”
