The City of Cardiff Council is developing a sustainable energy prospectus to meet increasing energy challenges as we work to fulfil our vision of becoming Europe’s most liveable city.
Like most cities in the UK, Cardiff is facing significant energy challenges as we are hugely dependent on imported energy, making us vulnerable to disruptions in supply and having no meaningful control on the price we pay for the energy to run our city.
Exploring ways of producing our own sustainable energy is therefore a key priority for the City Council and how this will be taken forward including the best approach to develop a route to market will go before the Cabinet on Thursday 17th July.
Cabinet member for Transport, Planning & Sustainability, Cllr Ramesh Patel said, ‘There are a number of potential opportunities for Cardiff to localise and diversify sources of clean energy creation. Investing in the right projects offers an opportunity to deliver a number of benefits for businesses, communities and service delivery partners.
‘Crucially, it will allow the city to safeguard the supply of energy, address rising costs and make a significant contribution to the vision of establishing Cardiff as Europe’s most liveable capital. To do this, the city must fully explore the potential for energy generation, identify the opportunities and challenges relating to infrastructure and investment and develop a clear business case to take this important process forward.’
Lamby Way Solar Farm
The City Council is already making significant progress on a number of sustainable energy projects with a proposed Solar Farm development at Lamby Way also going before Thursday’s Cabinet. A feasibility study and cost model has been carried out by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and concluded that the Lamby Way site, ending its time as a landfill site in 2014, has the potential to generate at least 7 mW of electricity, enough to power about 2,100 homes or about 5% of the total electricity consumption of the Council’s Estate with a carbon saving of over 3,000 tonnes per year.
Cllr Patel added, ‘This is a genuinely exciting project that can deliver real sustainable benefits to the City and our residents as well as utilising a difficult-to-use site. This administration is showing the imagination necessary to address energy issues that so many cities in the UK face and we are backing our One Planet vision and Liveable Cities Prospectus with action and innovative schemes.’
