Coventry City Council and E.ON celebrate one year of Strategic Energy Partnership

To mark the one-year anniversary of the pioneering 15-year Strategic Energy Partnership, E.ON is celebrating the achievements from the past 12 months and the upcoming initiatives supporting Coventry City Council in achieving its net zero goals.

The partnership is the UK’s first such relationship bringing together a local authority and the private sector and over its first year the two organisations have worked together on joint ambitions to make Coventry a more sustainable place to work and live – with projects aiming to regenerate the local economy, directly benefit communities and help to create new green jobs and skills.

Since last September, the partnership has been busy delivering the first initiatives agreed as part of the 15-year partnership:

• New electric vehicle chargers installed across the city centre, helping drivers across the city in their transition to greener transport.
• Providing families with warmer, more comfortable and cheaper homes through the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) scheme, future-proofing their homes through free energy efficient improvements.
• Educating and inspiring the next generation through workshops focused on sustainability, renewable energy and what is going on in their city to promote new types of energy, cleaner air and new green jobs and skills, with more than 300 schoolchildren having already taken part.
• Highlighting some of the incredible work being done by the people of Coventry, from eco-friendly cafes to community farm initiatives, to make the city a cleaner and greener place to live through E.ON’s Coventry Sustainability Heroes, in partnership with Coventry Live and the Coventry Telegraph.
• Providing work placements to care leavers which offered insight into careers in the sustainable energy industry, CV and interviewing workshops as well as a visit to E.ON’s training centre to learn about net zero enabling technologies.
• Continued partnerships with events across the city including MotoFest and the 2024 Godiva Festival.

And Coventry residents have been told to expect many more projects coming to the city in the coming months that will revolutionise energy use in the city to benefit residents and communities as well as the wider economy, including the potential for a solar farm which is planned to be built just outside the city as well as solar panels for 100 local schools.

One of those projects already confirmed is an upgrade to four community buildings set to start in October. Moat House Leisure and Neighbourhood Centre, Foleshill Library, Wilfred Spencer Centre, and 454 Foleshill Road which hosts Coventry’s Families for All Hub, will all receive energy efficiency and carbon-cutting measures such as replacement of windows, loft insulation, LED lighting, solar panels and heat pumps. These improvements will drastically reduce energy costs and improve comfort levels, making a big difference to the people and communities using the facilities.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, said: “As a Council we need to take a lead in making carbon cutting improvements in Coventry across all areas that we have a stake in, and that’s why we are working on our own properties to introduce more sustainable greener innovations.

“At the same time, we all know that tackling climate change needs a combined citywide effort and that’s why our partnership we set up last year with E.ON is so important – alongside the joint work we do with dozens of key organisations, businesses and community groups across the city.”

Simon Duncan, Chief Commercial Officer of Energy Infrastructure Solutions at E.ON, said: “We’re proud to be making a difference in our home city. E.ON have been based in Coventry for 30 years, and our skills, expertise and love of the city, combined with Coventry City Council’s passion and dedication to the people of Coventry, is a winning formula when it comes to making citywide changes that will make a real difference.

“Together, we have achieved a huge amount in the first twelve months of this transformative partnership, not least of which have been several energy and community benefit projects and the development of a long-term energy master plan for the city; something which has not been done before in the UK.

“The last year has enabled us to form a strong foundation for our partnership and will help us commit the focus and resources to deliver multiple, transformative and innovative projects in the city. Right across Europe, E.ON is a playmaker in the energy transition – no more so than here in our home city in the UK – and our work here will be a pioneering blueprint for how the public and private sector can, and must, work together to help the UK transform its cities and improve people’s lives.”

An overarching aim of the Strategic Energy Partnership is to bring wider benefits to communities across the city, ensuring long term benefits around sustainability. Through the Strategic Energy Partnership, E.ON is continuing to run multiple workshops in schools across the city helping educate the children on the world of sustainability and energy, as well as taking part in biodiversity initiatives and community talks that link residents to funded energy schemes to help them reduce their bills.

E.ON was lead partner of MotoFest Coventry 2024, with a stand that featured talks from E.ON Next Veloce racing drivers, racing simulators, and a city-themed Scalextric circuit, all to supercharge the city’s showcase of the latest advanced automotive, future and electric vehicle technology. And E.ON Next was the major sponsor of Coventry’s Godiva Festival 2024, a staple event in the city's cultural and events calendar.

For more information on E.ON’s Strategic Energy Partnership with Coventry City Council, visit eonenergy.com/coventry