For the committee to review the opportunity to enter into negotiations with the Low Carbon Hub and other Oxfordshire Councils on a potential Power Purchase Agreement. To make recommendations to Cabinet.
Minutes:
Corporate energy officer introduced the report to the committee.
The paper is for the committee’s consideration. A Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA, could be an element, along with a broad portfolio of projects, to help achieve the council’s carbon neutral target.
The first priority, from our climate emergency one-year work programme, is that we will aim to reduce energy use from our operations, and to install renewable technologies on site. These actions alone are unlikely to bring our carbon emissions to zero, so further options need to be considered. A PPA is a mechanism for matching zero carbon electricity generation at a new renewable energy asset with the council’s energy use. It then allows us to declare zero carbon emissions for the contracted energy. If a new renewable energy asset is in South Oxfordshire, this also has additional local benefits. We therefore wish to enter into discussions with other Oxfordshire Councils and other external parties to identify the opportunities available.
As written in the report, there will be a range of financial and procurement issues to resolve, so no commitment has been made yet.
There is no conflict between these proposals and the parallel process of procuring gas and electricity for the council’s properties.
We realise this is a complex proposal, and we have set out the key issues in the paper, and we welcome questions at this stage.
The committee discussed PPA as follows:
The comments made will be considered by officers at this early stage, no negotiations have taken place yet.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Committee recommends to Cabinet that officers join discussions with other Oxfordshire councils and commercial partners to identify the feasibility of entering into a Power Purchase Agreement.
Supporting documents:
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South Oxfordshire District Council
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