Denbighshire County Council’s Cabinet has backed a Local Area Energy (LAEP) plan for the county.
Cabinet members agreed to endorse the plan at a recent meeting which has been put together with Arup, The Carbon Trust and Afallen and through engagement with stakeholders since April 2023.
On behalf of the Welsh Government, Ambition North Wales are managing a contract with consultants developing the LAEP for Denbighshire, and the other north Wales counties.
The LAEP is an evidence-based, holistic plan that outlines the scale of change and opportunity to decarbonise Denbighshire’s local energy system.
Workshops were used to bring all stakeholders together to discuss the county’s current local energy system, explore what the future local energy system might look like and how the Council, private, public and third sector partners can work together to influence and deliver what is needed for a decarbonised energy system.
Cllr Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport and Council Biodiversity Champion, said: “We all have a role to play in shaping Denbighshire and Wales’s transition to Net Zero, and as a Council we understand how important it will be for us to do this in a way that protects and supports our most vulnerable communities, and delivers additional benefits, such as improved health and employment opportunities across the county.
“Having a LAEP for Denbighshire brings our local energy planning perspective to the regional and national energy infrastructure planning done by others and ensures that our local priorities remain at the heart of the energy transition.”
The LAEP will help:
- determine what products, partnerships or services could be offered and delivered in a local area
- highlight areas with significant potential to developers
- help better prepare organisations for public funding opportunities,
- inform regional views and decision-making, to achieve a cost-effective transition or strengthening the case for policy change needed at the UK government level.
Cllr Mellor added: “We are motivated to continue the drive to Net Zero at a local level and we acknowledge our role as convener and co-ordinator, to motivate others to do the same.
“It is important we as a Council set goals to the drive to a greener future. However, our influence over the energy system is limited, and we cannot deliver this plan without input from others in North Wales. We will work with others in North Wales to deliver these plans and we will steer the programme together,”