London Boroughs

The development of Decentralised Energy (DE) opportunities is integral to local climate change strategies and planning frameworks. National Indicators 185 and 186 require local authorities to reduce CO₂ emissions from their operations and in their local areas, and many are developing climate change strategies with a decentralised energy component in recognition of the contribution this technology can make to CO₂ emissions.

The DEMaP Support Package offered by the LDA, GLA and London Councils is providing local authorities with direct support to develop such DE masterplans using information from the London Heat Map and locally collected data. These detailed DE masterplans can in turn be fed into the London Heat Map to provide ever-greater levels of spatial intelligence for the identification and development of DE projects.

As well as undertaking DE master plans, local authorities can develop DE opportunities by:

Placing specific planning requirements within the Core Strategy, Local Development Framework, Opportunity Area Planning Frameworks and Area Action Plans.
Placing specific targets within key council strategies and Local Area Agreements
Protecting existing communal heating systems
Implementing upgrades to communal heating systems in buildings over which they have direct control/ownership
Implementing DE projects via major regeneration or carbon reduction schemes
Procuring low carbon heat or electricity for their own buildings and those they manage
Encouraging members of the Local Strategic Partnership, housing associations and other public sector partners (schools, hospitals, leisure centres etc) to consider DE options
Developing local delivery partnerships and Energy Service Special Purpose Vehicles

We hope this website will provide a central point of reference for local authorities in London on DE issues, and we invite authorities to use and update their energy data on the London Heat Map, as well as share the outputs from support received under the DEMaP Support Package.