ep Group launches a Net Zero capacity building programme

Following a successful phase 1 project, ep Group are now working in partnership with Ibex Earth and Surrey County Council to deliver a capacity building and knowledge exchange programme funded by Innovate UK: Pathfinder Places Phase 2. This will focus on developing local authorities’ understanding of how private finance can be integrated into their funding models, and strategies to achieve their local net zero targets through a Net Zero Delivery Vehicle.

Background

Achieving the UK’s 2050 net zero emissions targets will require local authorities to implement new approaches to place-based decarbonisation, covering emissions within both their direct and indirect control and those that they can exert influence over.

According to the IUK/GFI report, Mobilising local net zero investments, an investment of £1.4 trillion is required to reach net zero. Public finances alone cannot fund the transition to net zero – there is a need to mobilize institutional capital at scale. The report noted: ‘the level of resources, technical know-how, and financial expertise required to structure complex projects involving multiple public and private stakeholders presents a particular challenge to most local authorities’.

“During Phase 1 of the project, project partners identified over £46 billion worth of local net zero investments that could be delivered across Surrey, Kent, Essex and Brighton. Yet, a series of non-technical barriers exist that are preventing local authorities realise these investments, namely, a lack of in-house skills, resources and capacity to deliver their projects and difficulty in accessing private capital. Phase 2 presents an exciting opportunity to address these barriers and build the capabilities of local authorities to accelerate the pace and scale of delivering their net zero programmes.”

Chris Livemore

Director, Ibex Earth

Solution

The Phase 2 programme will comprise of capacity building and knowledge exchange across the participating LAs, which currently cover a geographic area comprising over 19 million people – or 34.5% of England’s population (ONS, 2019). The programme’s goal is to initiate the cultural change that is required for local authorities to deploy private finance to fund their net zero investments through the Net Zero Delivery Vehicle (NZDV).

The NZDV is an innovative partnership that will utilise best practice with local knowledge to facilitate place-based programme delivery.

The NZDV is a ‘transaction enabler’, supporting local authorities in developing investment-grade business cases, engaging with private financiers, assessing and securing project capital, delivering and monitoring net zero investments, and establishing communication channels that enable project aggregation and knowledge sharing across places. The NZDV solution is currently being developed through different funding streams.

"A critical barrier to achieving a net zero economy is a lack of capacity amongst energy users and others to originate and develop quality integrated projects at scale and link them to finance. This is particularly true in the public sector which has severe cost and resource constraints. This project will help build capacity in Surrey County Council and then use that experience in other local authorities, contributing to increasing the flow of projects which are ready to be financed."

Dr Steven Fawkes, Managing Partner, ep group

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ep Group launches a Net Zero capacity building programme

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