Local Energy Planning Final report - Citizens Advice

Few local authorities have a strategy focused solely on energy planning – often this is part of a wider decarbonisation approach. Subject to LEP and regional local government processes; often led by a steering committee of key interest groups. Many local governments are now planning to act quickly on climate change, often due to a perceived shift in public opinion and pressure from lobby groups or activists.

Many local governments have developed climate action plans, which often appear to be driven by a desire to show ambition (for example, to quickly reach net zero). There is a lot of work being done by local governments to tackle climate change, and in particular decarbonisation. Few local authorities have a strategy focused solely on energy planning – and it can be difficult to find clear information about what is happening in a local area in terms of energy.

None of the Local Authorities we looked at in this research – either in the initial desk review or in more detailed case studies – have plans that look similar to the ESC/CSE template for LAEP. Very few Local Authorities have developed Local Area Energy Plans which are drawn up on the ESC/CSE template.

Typologies of local energy planning (1/2) 11

We have refined our typologies to explain variation in approaches to local energy planning – although there is still significant variation within each of the typologies

Climate action plans

Regional energy strategies

Typologies of local energy planning (2/2) 12

Local development plans

Innovation projects

Governance 13

Climate action plans such as WM2041 and the Frome Climate Emergency Strategy are all solely owned and led by the relevant local authority. Regional energy strategies are led by local enterprise partnerships, often in collaboration with relevant local authorities. There are many models for developing a local plan – with different roles for Local Authorities and third parties.

There are numerous models for developing a local plan – with differing roles of Local Authorities and third parties

Governance 14

Usually only the local government is involved; external stakeholders have no formal role in its leadership. There is usually no formal consultation with stakeholders who are not directly involved in the implementation of these projects. The role of external stakeholders, such as the energy sector, academics and consumer organizations, varies per typology.

The role of third party stakeholders, such as the energy sector, academics and consumer organisations, varies across the typologies

Citizen and stakeholder engagement 15

Large climate action plans (such as WM2041 or Warwickshire) typically have. conducted public consultation – although the format and scope of this varies. Warwickshire included its climate emergency targets in its local plan, which was sent out for public consultation, and is seeking further feedback on the way money allocated for resulting actions is spent. Smaller schemes such as Gwynedd County Council have not yet carried out public consultations or engagement exercises - although they have been criticized for this.

The extent of public consultation varies, and major climate action plans are most likely to have consulted the public.

Citizen and stakeholder engagement 16

Citizen and stakeholder engagement 17

Many Local Authorities find it difficult to engage a representative group of citizens on energy issues

Citizen and stakeholder engagement 18

Local authority consultations on climate action plans are open to the public to respond to, but are often not actively promoted among hard-to-reach groups. Out for consultation' typically means a council-written survey hosted on the local authority's website and published through the council. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Essex County Council has shifted from predominantly face-to-face to online engagement approaches and reached a more diverse selection.

Most Local Authority public engagement efforts are relatively traditional

A lack of time and resources can hamper the ability to reach a more diverse group of citizens

Citizen and stakeholder engagement 19

The exact degree of transparency may vary – but it is usually possible to find at least basic information (eg minutes of council meetings) online. Transparency may be lower than for climate action plans, with information about decision-making sometimes hard to find. There is less consistency in terms of transparency and review requirements, which are potentially less systematic than they are for climate action plans.

For example, in one case it was not clear to all members of the strategy steering group how decisions on changes and amendments to various concepts were made, as these were 'reported' to the LEP who 'owned' the strategy. There are variations in how clear it is who 'owns' the strategy and who was involved in its development. Local energy planning is subject to different levels of scrutiny depending on which typology it fits.

Local energy planning is subject to different levels of scrutiny depending on which typology it fits into. (1/2)

Citizen and stakeholder engagement 20

However, energy is rarely the focus, so it can be challenging to find information about the impact of the plans on energy planning.

Local energy planning is subject to different levels of scrutiny depending on which typology it fits into. (2/2)

Funding 21

For climate action plans and regional energy strategies, costs are generally ambitious and based on best estimates. This may involve subsidies from central or local government, but also financing from important third parties (such as energy companies). The financial figures associated with climate action plans and regional energy strategies are generally global estimates of their achievement.

The financial figures attached to climate action plans and regional energy strategies are usually broad estimates for achieving

These are not fully quantified strategies for how the local area will achieve its targets (e.g. net zero). Original cost estimates are often outdated due to changing circumstances – such as technological innovation and the COVID-19 pandemic. These typologies currently already exist, but it is very likely that the approach to local energy planning will change over time.

The Energy Systems Catapult / Center for Sustainable Energy model of local energy plans has not yet been put into practice. There appears to be no central plan coordinating local governments' decarbonization activities. Energy planning activities at local level are likely to be further influenced by technological advances and emerging issues such as Brexit and Covid-19.

3 Information available in the public domain on local energy planning is often difficult to find and variable in detail. Many citizens are likely to have difficulty trying to understand what is happening in their region.

Appendix: case studies

Context

Governance

Citizen and stakeholder engagement (1/2)

Citizen and stakeholder engagement (2/2)

Cost information: • The pre-consultation plan, based on the July 2019 carbon budget estimates, suggests an investment of £40 billion will be required over 21 years. Source of funding: • The plan states that some measures will be paid for through taxation and government borrowing, but several other investment streams are being explored, including green bonds and other funding options for low-carbon investment, the West Midlands Future Fund, where public funds are used to raise private investment (for example the West Midlands Pension Fund could invest), 5G assets with DCMS matching funding and corporate sponsorship.

Funding

Warwickshire Climate Emergency Strategy 29

Frome Climate Emergency Strategy 34

Gwynedd Climate Change Action Plan 39

Gwynedd Council has overseen the planning process throughout – and this dates back to the development of the Council's first Carbon Management Plan in 2005. The Council worked closely with the Carbon Trust to produce the 2005 Plan, which included the use of a framework developed by Carbon Trust. Scrutiny: • The Carbon Management Plan was scrutinized by the council's scrutiny panel – including local members of the cabinet, the finance manager, the environment manager and some "on-the-ground" officers.

The 2018-23 plan also has a review committee, which challenged the draft plan and continues to review and challenge progress during an annual review process. The first used a report template from the Carbon Trust, so the courage of the report was there.”.

Gwynedd Climate Change Action Plan 41

Gwynedd Climate Change Action Plan 42

Gwynedd Climate Change Action Plan 43

Wirral 44
Wirral 45
Wirral 46
Wirral 47
Wirral 48

The declaration of a global climate emergency has also determined the direction of the plan. The strategy is not owned by a single agency, but rather is a shared regional strategy that everyone should strive for. However, Wirral Council will take over responsibility for annual reporting. The steering group reviewed Cool Wirral's progress and agreed the focus for Cool 2.

Overview: • Details of strategy and decision-making are included in the published annual report. In December 2018, school events "Cool Yule" and "Eco" were also held to collect information from students about things that are important to young people. The draft Cool 2 Wirral plan has been put out for public consultation to get residents' views.

In the summer of 2019, the Council and Partnership hosted an event to explore the views of residents and the community. Inclusivity: • Although 60-70 people attended the face-to-face summer event, it attracted the same old faces of people involved in environmental issues, and the participants were not necessarily representative of the community. Oversight of engagement: • 'Cool communities' is part of the strategy that focuses on engaging communities and businesses.

During consultation, a member of the public criticized the appearance of the document, which shaped the way the document was presented. Cool Communities' was established as a direct result of a resident survey carried out by one of the charities, in which people said they wanted to be more involved. The biggest risk of insufficient involvement is that the goals set out in the plan will not be achieved.

Engagement is needed to gain buy-in from local communities so that they feel ownership of the strategy and are willing to make the required changes in their behavior. Information about the costs: • No figures are given in the plan; the document is seen as a strategy and not as an action plan with specific costs associated with it. Source of funding: • The projects involve many partners, each with access to different funding streams. Therefore, resources can be pooled to finance the program.

Sheffield City Region Energy Strategy 49

Governance (1/2)

Governance (2/2)

Swansea Bay City Region Energy Strategy 55

Chelmsford Local Plan 60

Oxfordshire LEO 65

Oxfordshire LEO 66

Oxfordshire LEO 67

Oxfordshire LEO 68

Citizen and stakeholder engagement

Oxfordshire LEO 69

North East Energy For Growth 70

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