Anglesey County Council Launches Carbon-Saving Initiatives
Anglesey County Council’s Re:fit initiative aims to cut over 1,672 tonnes of CO2 annually, advancing its goal of net zero by 2030 through energy-efficient property upgrades.
After declaring a climate emergency in September 2020, Isle of Anglesey County Council committed to reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions across its properties, with a goal of becoming carbon neutral. This project is a cornerstone of the Council’s mission to reach net zero by 2030.
The Challenge:
Serving a population of 69,049 (2022 data), the Council is working to reduce its energy consumption through energy conservation and generation measures, including maximising energy efficiency in its council housing stock.
A core part of its action plan is the Council’s pledge to stop investing in fossil fuels and leverage local planning policies to accelerate the delivery of net zero carbon developments and communities. The Council’s adoption of the Re:fit framework has been pivotal to achieving this. Local Partnerships exclusively provides support to users of the framework nationwide and supported the project with delivery of an energy performance contract, guaranteeing that implemented measures achieve a minimum level of financial and carbon savings.
The Solution:
This phased initiative introduced a range of sustainable upgrades across more than fifty properties in the Council’s estate, including LED lighting, solar PV, boiler optimisers, heating enhancements, chiller upgrades, and improved insulation. For the first phase, 28 buildings were selected, including leisure centres, primary and secondary schools, libraries, offices, residential care sites, and an art gallery and café. Works included:
- Implementation of 11 energy reduction and zero carbon generation measures.
- Installation of 7,304 LED light fittings.
- Installation of boiler optimiser.
- Replacing gas-fired boilers at the Council’s main offices in Llangefni with two 500 kW water source heat pumps, connected to three dry air coolers.
- Powered the new heat pumps with a 65 kWp solar PV array on the roof and a large solar carport array in the office parking lot.
- Integrated battery storage for maximum efficiency of renewable energy.
- Installation of new high-efficiency ventilation and heating systems at Amlwch Leisure Centre. Replaced existing inefficient oil-fired boilers with air source heat pumps, which will significantly reduce carbon emissions.
The Impact:
The Re:fit project is saving the Council a projected over 1,672 tonnes of CO2 annually, playing a key part in its mission to achieve net zero by 2030. Energy bills are also being reduced through energy saving measures, such as LED lighting and a boiler optimiser, which require less energy to produce heat and light. In addition, the new low-carbon heating system is providing 100% of the heating and hot water for the Council’s main offices.
Anglesey is proud of its efforts to reduce the carbon emissions of our buildings and is leading the way in trialling new and emerging energy efficiency technologies. We have worked closely with the Re:fit scheme…across a range of our buildings, from leisure centres to schools and older people care homes, introducing energy efficiency schemes.
Dafydd Rhys Thomas, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Waste Management and Property, Isle of Anglesey County Council
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