Energy Management

The Energy Management Unit's (EMU) aims are:

• To reduce the city council's energy consumption by 10% of the 2003/04 figure by the year 2010.
• To purchase 15% of the city council's electricity from renewable sources by the year 2010.
• To actively promote a sustainable energy future for Bristol and its communities.
• To reduce the carbon emissions of the council by 60% by 2050, recently modified to be a 3% reduction year on year up to 2020.

To find out more about Energy Management and its projects see THE CARBON REDUCTION STRATEGY 2007 at the bottom of this page, or call for a hard copy.

How the EMU is working towards meeting these targets

By negotiating new cheaper tariffs with various energy suppliers and reinvesting savings made into improving the energy efficiency of council properties.

Since 1991/92 over £4.5 million has been saved through energy efficiency measures and negotiated tariffs. During this period around £1,080,000 has been invested into improving the energy efficiency of the councils' buildings.

The Sustainable Energy & Climate Protection Strategy for Bristol looked into developing proposals for renewable energy supply for the city. These included:

• Wind project at Avonmouth - Avonmouth is the best site in Bristol for siting wind turbines, the compromise between visual impact and maximum wind speeds is optimised.
• Biomass Heating systems - two biomass boilers have been installed at Blaise Estates and Florence Brown Community School, using wood chips and 'waste wood' from parks sites.
• Installing solar hot water and solar PV systems on BCC housing stock, residential care accommodation and council buildings.

Bristol City Council has signed the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change

This will allow Bristol City Council to link its policies and achievements into a national agreement. We hope that this show of support for sustainable development across the UK will show, through example, the importance of the issue and the possibility to effectively combat climate change. For more information on this document please follow link: www.nottinghamdeclaration.org.uk

Energy awareness raising and training

• The Energy Management Unit produces its own energy awareness posters and stickers for distribution throughout the Council.
• The Site Energy Officer scheme run by the Energy Management Unit is a network of volunteers at various sites across the Council who help us in a number of ways:
  • Reading gas and electricity meters on a regular basis.
  • Acting as a contact at their site for distributing awareness posters/stickers.
  • Being the eyes and ears of the EMU - looking out for energy and water wastage at their site.

Online reference tool - Renewables Reference

This free online database provides you with the key documents you will need for your carbon reduction projects:

• Covers planning, policy and practical guidance on the complete range of sustainable energy topics.
• Hundreds of documents searchable by keyword or topic.
• Save hours of time by accessing only the most relevant documents.

Begin your sustainable energy planning at: www.bristol.gov.uk/renewables

How to contact the Energy Management Unit

Telephone 0117 922 4436
Email energy.management@bristol.gov.uk
Fax 0117 903 7463

B Bond,
Smeaton Road,
Bristol BS1 6XN