Greater Brighton Writes to Secretary of State on Sussex’s 2040 Net Zero Energy Mission
Following the launch of the Sussex Energy Mission last month, the previous and current Chairs of the Greater Brighton Economic Board have written to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to outline the scale of Sussex’s energy challenge and set out how national and local government can work together to accelerate progress.
The letter highlights the ambition for Sussex to achieve net zero energy status by 2040, outlines the support required from central government to help deliver this goal and highlights Sussex’s proven track record in energy innovation to be built on.
The full letter is published below.
Rt Hon Ed Miliband
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
By email: ed.miliband.mp@parliament.uk
7th August 2024
Dear Secretary of State,
The Sussex Energy Mission: Achieve net zero energy status by 2040.
Congratulations to you and your team on your new appointment.
We represent the Greater Brighton Economic Board, a unique collaboration focused on sustainable economic growth. Our members are 7 local authorities (Arun, Adur, Brighton & Hove, Crawley, Mid Sussex, Lewes, Worthing) with a total population of over 1 million people and over 40,000 businesses. We also include two leading universities (Brighton and Sussex) with strong track records in supporting low carbon business growth and energy research, a further education provider rated as outstanding and the South Downs National Park Authority, the most populous UK National Park with 2 million people living/working in, or within, 5km of the Park.
Sussex faces a significant energy challenge, with current demand exceeding renewable supply by 14 times. To address this, last month we launched the Sussex Energy Mission aimed at achieving net zero energy status by 2040. This ambitious goal seeks to ensure that our community’s energy use equals the zero-carbon energy generated locally, thereby enhancing energy security and addressing urgent climate concerns, at the same time as driving economic growth.
We have deliberately designed this as a mission with an ambitious, measurable long-term objective to drive collaboration and reflect the new, more joined up way of doing government, pushing power out to communities.
Working closely with the Greater South-East Net Zero Hub (GSENZH), funded by DESNZ, we aim to drive policy innovation and develop a strategic energy plan. We seek central government collaboration to prototype innovative approaches, e.g. catalysing private investment with relatively modest government capital (in line with the National Wealth Fund principles) and overcoming regulatory barriers, such as reforming social housing legislation, to encourage retrofit investments.
To support our mission, we request the following:
- Establishment of a local energy network to facilitate collaboration with DESNZ and other regional programs.
- Allocation of reliable, regionally managed funding for energy projects to implement our strategic plan and stimulate economic growth.
- Support for grid infrastructure investment to maintain stability amidst renewable energy expansion.
- National public awareness campaigns to promote renewable energy benefits and energy efficiency.
Sussex has a proven track record in energy innovation:
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- The Worthing Heat Network is now under construction, leveraging £500m of private investment, unlocked through £7m DESNZ grant support and reliable revenue streams from the council and NHS as anchor tenants. It is pioneering an evergreen concession model which is being rapidly adopted elsewhere.
- Hydrogen Sussex, facilitating the hydrogen economy across the county, including innovative energy projects like hydrogen-fuelled cremation.
- Our leading local energy cooperative sector, including Brighton Energy Cooperative, Brighton & Hove Energy Services Cooperative and The Ouse Valley Energy Service Company, are driving community-owned renewable and energy efficiency projects.
- The planned expansion of the Rampion Wind Farm will boost regional renewable energy output four-fold.
Our mission will directly contribute to national priorities to transition to a zero-carbon electricity system by 2030, create 650,000 new jobs by 2030 through investment in clean energy and infrastructure and install thousands of clean power projects which local people directly benefit from.
We are confident that with the government’s support, Sussex can become a beacon of sustainable development and zero-carbon energy production.
Thank you for considering our request. We invite you to visit Sussex to see one of our projects firsthand and explore collaboration opportunities.
Yours Sincerely,
Cllr Bella Sankey
Bella.sankey@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Chair of Greater Brighton Economic Board
Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council
Dr Beccy Cooper
Beccy.cooper.mp@parliament.uk
Former Chair of Greater Brighton Economic Board
MP for Worthing West