Business and local leaders in the UK have called upon the UK Government to invest £5bn in local energy recovery initiatives as part of a nationwide stimulus package.
Over 100 mayors and local government leaders, along with Siemens UK, have advised the chancellor and prime minister that £5bn of development funding would unlock £100bn worth of schemes.
Details of the proposals are contained in the UK100 Local Energy Insight Report.
They include a Net Zero Development Bank that would bring together all government financing for the transition and “kickstart” local energy schemes, which are at too early a stage to be attractive to private finance, said the coalition.
The UK100 study, undertaken with Siemens, makes the case for a “more balanced energy system” that would have the “right mix” of local decentralised energy systems alongside large-scale generation.
Proposals set out by the UK100 coalition have earmarked £10bn for solar, wind and other renewable energy projects.
A further £40bn would be directed at energy efficiency projects to “make good on manifesto pledge on retrofitting leaky homes”.
The package could create over 300,000 jobs, helping to level up all parts of the country and “build back better”, the coalition stated.
UK100 director Polly Billington (pictured) said: “The Prime Minister needs to make good on his manifesto promise to invest in energy efficiency in UK homes, which are some of the leakiest in Europe.”
She added: “£5bn could unlock £100bn. That would help consumers save on their fuel bills and the environment.
“A stimulus package that focuses on local energy will help rescue the UK economy and deliver on the Prime Minister’s ambitions of levelling up all parts of the country, and meeting the net zero target.”
Siemens UK chief executive Carl Ennis said: “There is an urgent need to scale up local, sustainable, energy if the UK is to have any chance of meeting net zero by 2050.
“This requires a collective national effort with government, business and the public all playing our part. Local energy should be at the heart of the National Infrastructure Strategy creating a more consistent policy landscape that will give investors the confidence to invest earlier.”
Local energy projects include retrofitting homes, onshore solar and wind power, biomass, electric vehicle charging and smart grids all of which are critical to meeting the UK’s net zero target by 2050, said UK100.