The Liverpool City Region LEP has published a new report ‘LEPs and local energy’ on the role of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in supporting the local energy agenda.
The report, commissioned by the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), surveys a range of opportunities to deliver local, competitive energy and supply chain growth across English LEP areas, illustrated through examples of best practice. It also explores the role that LEPs can play in supporting investment in local energy and makes the case for greater LEP engagement to realise the economic, social and environmental benefits of local energy activities.
Mark Knowles, Head of Low Carbon Economy said: “The significance and importance of the local energy agenda is now becoming more widely recognised and understood. This report has identified a variety of ways that LEPs across the country are already supporting businesses and municipal and community energy activities from mentoring and funding to promotion of opportunities and successes.
“Importantly, what this report sets out to do is help LEPs further develop their own approach which, in turn, can enable local economies to seize opportunities and implement projects that deliver investment, jobs and local growth.”
The report includes a set of recommendations as to how LEPs can promote local energy activities, these are:
- Recognise that breadth of activities encompassed by local energy
- Encourage private businesses to engage with local energy
- Work with public sector partners and develop municipal energy projects
- Promote community energy activities & recognise that LEPs have shared objectives
- Harness local research and innovation
- Work as a conduit between Government and local stakeholders
- Provide support to local energy projects
- Review funding streams which might be aligned to local energy outcomes
- Grow LEP capacity to promote local energy activities
On the local energy agenda for the City Region, James Johnson, Sustainable Energy Project Manager says: “Here at the LEP we are working with partner organisations from the private, public and third sectors to enable local interventions and collaborations that will support the decarbonisation of the City Region and create a local competitive and resilient energy system.”
This report was produced by the Local Carbon Team at the LEP, supported by the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Liverpool City Council and Richardo Energy and Environment.