Peterborough LAEP case study
As part of the Prospering from the Energy Revolution (PFER+) program, Innovate UK funded the production of a local area energy plan (LAEP) for the Peterborough local authority area. To produce the LAEP, key stakeholders, including UK Power Networks and National Grid Electricity Distribution, were actively involved in providing data and challenging assumptions.
Reference Project Summary (from page 9 of Peterborough LAEP)
Target and scope
In July 2019, Peterborough City Council (PCC) declared a climate emergency. To address this challenge, PCC committed to “make the Council’s activities Net Zero carbon by 2030”.
The LAEP covered around 70% of the emissions from Peterborough, including:
Target areas for decarbonisation
Local area
Peterborough currently has a population of around 216,000 living in 87,000 dwellings. There are plans to add another 15,000 dwellings between 2022 and 2036. The buildings are concentrated in the city to the south of the area, with rural towns and villages to the north, west and east.
Within the LAEP, the local authority area was divided into zones which broadly relate to the primary electricity substation to which buildings are connected (using data provided by the electrical networks WPD and UK Power Networks).
In total, ten zones were created using this method (shown in the map below).
Map of the Peterborough area
LAEP Stage: 6. Implementation and monitoring
Adrian Chapman – Executive Director: Place & Economy
Further information:
Lessons Learnt
Local authority net zero aspirations are often highly ambitious, so discussions are needed early in the LAEP process to ensure the practical realities of delivery at pace are understood, and a plan can be developed with credible rates of delivery.
Early agreement of which scenario(s) to focus on and how to show multiple scenarios the plan is essential to allow production of the plan to progress to schedule.
Business-as-usual (counterfactual) costs have significant impacts on the net cost of reaching net zero, so the method to accurately calculate and deduct these costs must be carefully established.
Impact and Benefits
A format for the local area energy plan document with engaging visuals and narrative has been developed, which can be used as a basis for subsequent LAEPs.
An approach to highlighting priority project investment cases has been developed.
The plan has received highly positive reception from the stakeholders, with feedback that it will be instrumental in mobilizing the delivery of Peterborough’s net zero ambitions.
Top Tips and Hints
Careful consideration and early stakeholder engagement is needed to agree realistic land areas available for the development of large-scale renewable generation. The low cost energy and carbon reductions from large-scale renewables means that they will be deployed in very large quantities in modelling unless constrained, which may not be socially acceptable or deliverable in practice.
Transport decarbonization plans might be considered to be external and fixed inputs to modelling, though this can result in misalignment with the net zero target date.
An approach is needed to bring together the cost and carbon impacts of elements of the plan which are outside of modelling. In Peterborough’s case this included fuel usage by cars and emissions savings from large-scale renewables.
Key Points of Contact
Hannah Swinburne
Principal Climate Change Officer
