Hertfordshire County Council pledge 80 per cent reduction in carbon

The Hertfordshire County Council strategy sets out its carbon targets through adopting five key themes:

- Demand reduction throughout energy efficiencies, application of low and zero carbon technologies

- Procurement of green energy

- Energy generation from renewable and emerging technologies

- Communities and partnership support on carbon reduction

- Infrastructure development.

To oversee the delivery and development of this strategy an energy task force has been set up, compromising of councillors and officers.

Councillor Ralph Sangster, resources and performance cabinet member, said: “We have saved over £3.2million annually through a number of measures which include the reduction of our carbon emissions by 41 per cent over the past six-years, reducing demand, improving efficiencies and the application of low carbon technologies.

"The aim of our new energy strategy is to improve upon these efficiencies through no and low cost measures before considering high cost actions.”

As part of the energy generation from renewable technologies theme, cabinet have approved the initial funding to explore a solar panel farm and battery storage project in Smallford Pit, St Albans.

Initial assessments have revealed the 124-acre site could support this project, with the energy task force now working closely with UK Power Networks to secure grid availability.