Client: Birmingham City Council 2021

The Government has put in place a number of policy measures and grant programmes to support the development of District Energy Schemes, targeted at supporting market growth and the development of low-carbon networks while ensuring fair pricing.

The Birmingham District Energy Scheme (DES), and its service delivery unit Birmingham District Energy Company (BDEC), have a strategic role to play as part of Birmingham City Council (BCC)’s climate change strategy, supporting the aim to be carbon neutral by 2030, or as soon thereafter as a ‘just transition’ allows. The DES leverages economies of scale, reducing the amount of energy wasted, and has delivered more than 67,000 tCO₂e savings to Birmingham City so far.

Inner Circle provided expert commercial input to develop a strategy for BCC to expand thinking of its DEC and deliver decarbonised energy as an integral component of its regeneration and carbon neutral aims. We worked together on a proposition for BCC to manage DES together with support from low carbon energy expert EQUANS to build a decarbonisation plan, develop an energy roadmap and explore different commercial models.

Our impact

• Birmingham DES is now working to a 25-year joint co-operation agreement between EQUANS and BCC to build, operate, maintain, develop and densify the heat network schemes within Birmingham.
• The DES 2025-50 plan will help the city adopt emerging decarbonisation technologies in scheme expansion, commercial and domestic requirements, integration of energy from waste; and planned urban regeneration and energy demand management.
• This will provide a significant contribution to supporting BCC on its aim for carbon neutrality and ambitions to reduce fuel poverty.