City Council's programme for cutting carbon emissions wins national award

12.17.00pm GMT Fri 15th Jan 2010

Oxford may soon install a wind turbine, as part of its climate change programme

With a combination of initiatives including voltage optimisation, chemical "covers" on swimming pools, cycle-to-work days for the staff, "power-down" events, and plans for wind turbines in the city, Oxford City Council has won the Carbon Trust's "Innovative use of technology" award in the public sector category. The programme has enthusiastic support from the three main parties represented on the city council.

As the New Scientist reports: "Oxford set about its mission with purpose. With help from the Carbon Trust, it assembled an energy and climate change team, underwent a carbon audit and planned its cuts. Now it is implementing that plan, called Getting Our House in Order." The target is a 25 per cent cut by March 2011. Two years in, the council is on target, having slashed emissions by nearly 17 per cent from 2006 levels.

All the carbon-cutting measures the council adopts must pay for themselves within five years. One of the earliest wins came from voltage optimisation. Many appliances, such as air conditioners and fridges, are designed to work on 216 volts, whereas the mains supply is nominally 240 volts. Stepping down the voltage in council buildings to 220 volts led to an immediate drop in power consumption without anyone noticing.

"In building a low-carbon economy there are a few big things that need to be done, but these will never be sufficient. There is also a need for us all to engage at home, school, work, etc," says Chris Mottershead of King's College London, one of the Carbon Trust judges. "The diversity of what the Oxford team has done demonstrates a commitment beyond the mere rhetoric that often grabs the headlines."

Read the New Scientist article at http://www.newscientist.com/art/cleantechrevolution/view?id=dn18290