Energy

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Energy is fundamental to a modern society, powering our homes, businesses, transport and infrastructure. Increasingly it will power our data centres and AI. We currently spend billions to import energy into our area, and are exposed to local pollution, regional grid constraints, and global geopolitical instability. We waste a large proportion of this energy and many of our residents and businesses struggle to afford their bills. There is a huge opportunity to generate our own clean power, build local resilience and cut waste, boosting our local economy, keeping local families warm and improving our local environment.

We use a huge amount of energy in Hampshire and the Solent. Our people and businesses  35,000 GWh of energy annually, accounting for 7,100 tonnes of GHG emissions. While we generate some electricity locally, this mainly relies on imported fossil fuels; £3.2 billion leaves our local economy every year to pay for energy. 

Burning these fossil fuels emits 5.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in Hampshire and Solent, representing 90% of all our greenhouse gas emissions.
 

The change we need

We need energy. So we need to transform our energy systems. 

This is a huge economic opportunity. A way of creating thousands of well paid jobs and reversing this drain on our local economy. 

First, we must become much more energy efficient – using less to do more: 

1. Insulate our leaky buildings, and build only carbon neutral housing.
2. Electrify heating. Heat pumps can be more than four times more efficient than gas boilers and there are exciting opportunities for heat networks in our cities. Buildings that are more energy efficient are more comfortable and healthy to live in.
3. Drive less, move to bikes and public transport and electrify our transport system. Electric buses, ambulances, lorries and cars are 3 times more energy efficient than petrol or diesel vehicles.

Second, we must shift from imported fossil fuels to renewable and low carbon energy sources – we have excellent local energy resources including  wind, solar, biomass tidal and hydro and possibly nuclear. 

This shift to electricity, moving away from petrol, gas and oil for heat and transport will use much less energy overall, but require three or four times as much electricity. We need to invest much more in local renewable electricity generation. And we need a grid that can take electricity from where it is generated to where it is used. 

The benefits are huge:

• Renewable electricity is cheap to produce, reducing household bills and business costs. Cheaper energy will boost the Hampshire economy
• Adapting our infrastructure to change makes it safer, more reliable and robust. 
• Local renewable energy will remove our reliance on foreign controlled and owned energy sources.
• Clean electricity will cut our greenhouse emissions by 80%
• A cleaner environment and abundant cheap electricity will make our region attractive to new investment from both the UK and wider, and generate well paid highly skilled local jobs. 

We call on the Mayor to:

1. Commit to the absolute need to transform our energy system from one based on fossil fuels to one based on renewable electricity 
2. Develop a local area energy plan that identifies the future demand for electricity and a strategy for generating that from renewables locally.
3. In the spatial planning strategy, identify enough land to meet the renewable electricity needs of Hampshire and Solent
4. Set an economic strategy that reflects the vital importance of providing enough electricity for local industry and business and the economic opportunities created by a thriving low carbon economy
5. Work with other Mayors to press the Government for speedy effective investment to ensure that the national grid has the capacity to deliver what’s needed.
6. Work with other Mayors to press the Government for support for home-owners and social housing to switch from oil and gas to electric heating.
7. Secure agreement among unitary authorities to include in their next Local Plan:

• Encouragement for investment in renewable generation, and sites which should include solar farms, onshore wind turbines and tidal power
• Advice on agrivoltaic approaches that allow land to be used for both farming and clean energy generation.
• Requirements for all new buildings to deliver net zero emissions
• A plan to deliver recharging facilities for all Hampshire & Solent transport needs