Green light for carbon action.

600 tonne reduction in carbon emissions predicted.

Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) has won over £2.4million from a debcarbonisation scheme from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to help with the district’s leading climate change programme.

The money will be spent improving both the Hydro and Harrogate Convention Centre, improving energy efficiency and also reducing carbon emissions. At the Hydro the existing gas boilers will be replaced with heat pumps, along with the installation of solar panels as well as metering and energy monitoring and control systems. At the Convention Centre, lighting will be converted to LED and solar panels and air source heat pumps will be installed.

Cllr Matt Scott welcomed these improvements, saying: “Our Council has the most ambitious carbon reduction and green strategy of any council, including a plan to go carbon neutral by 2038, which I was proud to support. This improvement represents a significant step along that path, as it will reduce our carbon emissions by over 600 tonnes per year across both buildings. Work is likely to start soon after the beginning of the next financial year in April.”