Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 22nd January, it had approved an overall budget of £78,000 for a range of projects under the strategic theme of Better Care for Belfast’s Environment.  At that time, it had been agreed that officers would seek approval for each specific project from the relevant Committee prior to its commencement.  Accordingly, there were three projects which required the Committee’s endorsement.

            The Committee was advised that energy usage in Council properties cost £2,849,144 in 2009/10, with over 60% of that having been used within the Parks and Leisure Department.  The Director of Property and Projects explained that, from 1st April, 2011, the Council would be statutorily required to participate in the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme, which was intended to deliver greater energy efficiency and cut emissions of greenhouse gases.  Under that scheme, the Council was required to purchase an allowance or “credit” for every tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) that it emitted.  In the longer term, once a baseline position for emissions had been established, the intention was that those credits would be traded on a quasi-commercial basis under a ‘cap and trade’ type scheme.  It was anticipated that the annual cost to the Council of participating in the scheme would be in the region of £211,000 based on present emissions trends.  However, that cost could potentially be reduced by improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions in Council?owned premises.  The following proposals, which had been endorsed by the Sustainable Development Working Group, set out ways how that could be achieved:

            Improvements to the Control of

            Energy Use in Leisure Centres

            A sum of £14,000 was required to make alterations to existing energy controls at seven leisure centre buildings.  The project had the potential to achieve energy savings as well as providing management with a daily indication of energy usage.

            During discussion, the Chairman pointed out that in several local authorities in England it was possible for the public to access on the internet live information in the energy usage of various Council properties.  He suggested that such a scheme in Belfast would encourage officers to ensure that energy conservation was given a higher priority and that it might be useful to introduce a pilot scheme in one of the Council’s properties.

            The Use of Waste Woodchip

            as a Fuel for Heating

            A sum of £10,000 was required to investigate the feasibility of using existing waste woodchip from Council-owned parks and from street trees as an alternative heating fuel in some of its premises.  The Carbon Trust had already funded a study into several of the Council’s buildings, including the Botanic Gardens and the Ozone Tennis Centre, both of which could be suitable for switching from oil/gas to a woodchip fuel.  That type of fuel was regarded as carbon neutral and, therefore, had the potential to reduce the Council’s financial obligations under the aforementioned Energy Efficiency Scheme.  The purpose of the study would be to determine whether the Council’s existing supply of waste woodchip was suitable for use as a fuel and, if so, to investigate the issues around storing and drying that product as well as growing further wood as required.

            Staff Training on Energy Conservation

            Further energy conservation training for approximately 200 staff within the Parks and Leisure Department was required to be undertaken at a cost of £3,000.

            The Committee approved the expenditure in the sum of £27,000 from the Corporate Strategic Thematic Budget in order to undertake the three projects.  In addition, the Committee agreed that a pilot exercise be undertaken in one of the Council’s buildings in relation to the reduction of energy usage.