E.ON and Coventry City Council Set a New Energy Standard
E.ON attended this year’s UKREiiF along with Coventry City Council, where they jointly shared the story of how the two organisations are working together to make the city more sustainable. It’s a story that other cities now need to replicate for their own sustainability journeys to green growth, jobs and skills.
“Cities and communities across the UK have enormous challenges; what is needed, and what we are delivering with Coventry, is a new model of long-term strategic energy partnerships between local authorities and the private sector to effect real change at scale and pace. Our goal is to improve people’s lives by transforming the cities and communities in which we live.”
This statement was made by E.ON’s Philip Wallace who spoke at this year’s UKREiiF. These are words that no one can afford to ignore. It’s a rallying cry that should make local authorities sit up and take notice. But they’re not expected to go on this journey alone, and that’s where E.ON comes in.
This year, E.ON was at UKREiiF to talk about its Strategic Energy Partnership with Coventry City Council. Believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, this partnership is helping the West Midlands city transform its approach to carbon reduction, whilst at the same time helping to boost the local economy through the creation of green jobs and skills. The partnership is designed to make the best use of the capabilities and expertise within the two organisations, and take advantage of Coventry’s unique position as one of the country’s industrial and creative heartlands, to transform the local economy and open up access to hundreds of millions of pounds of investment.
It’s a minimum 15-year partnership, which will help Coventry achieve its net zero goals and set a new standard for how all cities will likewise need to adapt or else risk falling behind.
Philip Wallace, E.ON’s Head of the Coventry Strategic Energy Partnership, alongside Councillor Jim O’Boyle, and Andy Williams, Director of Regeneration and Economy, from Coventry City Council, took part in a panel session titled ‘Delivering Low Carbon Infrastructure at Scale and Pace’ on the West Midlands Pavilion at this year’s UKREiiF.
Together, they shared with the assembled audience the story of how this partnership between E.ON and a local authority came about and what it means for the city’s future. The passion and drive shown by both organisations was clear, and a definite indicator that partnerships like this are key to helping achieve the ambitious yet critical goals that all parts of the UK have set out in terms of investment in renewable, flexible and resilient energy infrastructure, domestic retrofit, electrification of transport, innovation, green economic growth, jobs and skills.
But this isn’t the end of the story. Rather, it’s just the beginning.
In an interview shortly after the panel session, Mr Wallace said that “Coventry has set the template for how to form long-term partnerships to deliver a transformation in cities.”
Through its collaborative work with Coventry City Council to make the city a greener and cleaner place to live and work, E.ON is demonstrating that it is a trailblazer here in the UK. It’s clear that it’s eager to use its expertise to help other UK cities across the West Midlands and beyond on their own net zero journeys.
“Transformation is needed in infrastructure, transport, housing, energy, and it’s got to be through the public and the private sectors coming together,” Mr Wallace added. “E.ON has a €42bn war chest for the energy transition across Europe, and I want the West Midlands to be able to access as much of that as possible.”
It’s not a case of “if” other cities will follow the suit of Coventry, but “when”. Contact E.ON at [email protected] to find out how it can help your city begin its journey.