Energy saving measures in Portsmouth save 250 tonnes of carbon in a year

Council projects from over the last two years including switching to LED lights have seen the reduction in energy use and costs.

It comes as the city cut its carbon emissions by 30 per cent between 2005 and 2016, which is roughly the equivalent of everyone in Portsmouth not driving for a whole year.

Councillor Dave Ashmore, Portsmouth City Council's environment boss, said: ‘I'm delighted to see these impressive carbon savings from a number of key retrofit and upgrade projects managed by the council.

The council has been clear in its plans to tackle climate change and these projects showcase these plans are being acted on.

‘The associated financial savings that come as a result of these carbon-savings projects provides another fantastic benefit to the work carried out by our in-house teams.’

As part of the upgrades lights within the civic offices were changed to energy efficient replacements. And more than 750 new LED lights were installed at Portsmouth Central Library.

A new light system at Isambard Brunel car park in the city centre - that dims when the site is not in use - was implemented, using 43 per cent less energy.

However, a spokesman from the Portsmouth Climate Alliance believed more needed to be done to improve emissions from transport and housing.

He said: ‘This confirms what experts have been saying for years: tackling the climate emergency is good for the economy, and the bottom line of both businesses and local authorities.

‘Of course we welcome these initiatives but it's also important to be honest with the public.

‘The 30 per cent reduction in city emissions cited by the administration was mostly a result of de-carbonisation of the national grid rather than anything done locally.

‘The real challenge for Portsmouth City Council is to reduce emissions from road transport and housing. Put together they account for over 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.’

As part of the ongoing work, the Emirates Spinnaker Tower’s light system was upgraded with 96 energy efficient LED lights and a new control system.

The new equipment alone saves £28,000 a year in maintenance costs and improves the efficiency and projected lifetime of the lights.

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