£553 million in funding is being given to public sector buildings across England from the government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, to enable them to make energy saving upgrades.
The fund will help to enable schools, hospitals, museums and leisure centres to install affordable low carbon heating and other energy efficiency measures. It is anticipated that such upgrades will help save £650 million per year on energy bills across public sector buildings over the next 15 years.
Some of the upgrades have already began across various public sector organisations, and the first phase alone is expected to support 30,000 jobs in the energy efficiency sector.
Organisations including Manchester Fire and Rescue, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and historic venues at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, are set to install heat pumps, LED lighting, insulation and double glazing to help make their buildings more energy efficient.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme aims to have a 75% reduction in emissions from public sector buildings by 2037 (based on 2017 levels).
Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan commented: "Using cleaner technology to heat our civic buildings is helping to shield public sector organisations from costly fossil fuels, especially at a time of high global prices."
"This funding will bring significant savings for taxpayers of well over half a billion pounds each year by making public buildings cheaper to run, heat and cool, whilst supporting economic growth and jobs across the country."
