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Client
AF&RS
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Sector
Public Sector
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Location
United Kingdom
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Number of sites
5
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Technology 1
Solar PV
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Technology 2
Energy Storage
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Technology 3
Solar Thermal
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Technology 4
Heat Pumps
Client
Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) provide emergency and protection services to the communities of Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
The Service is passionate about reducing their impact on the environment and is determined to demonstrate environmental leadership in the Fire & Rescue sector. AF&RS has pledged to reach Net Zero by 2030 and was selected as one of the UK’s Climate Leaders by the Cabinet Office ahead of the COP26 United Nations Climate Change conference held in November 2021. The Cabinet Office then showcased AF&RS’s environmental journey in a bid to encourage other organisations to reduce their carbon footprint.
“As a Fire and Rescue Service we have a long way to go in fully decarbonising our vehicles and stations, but we are incredibly proud of the strides we are making to achieve our ambitious plans. It is an honour to be recognised as one of the UK’s Climate Leaders, we’ve made a lot of progress on our environmental journey so far and being recognised for this only increases our motivation to make further changes. From electric vehicles to installing LED lighting and solar panels, we’re well on our way to reducing our carbon footprint. Over the next few years we will be trialling electric fire engines and much more in a bid to achieve our ambitious Net Zero carbon goal by 2030.”
Annabel Harford, Environmental Manager, Avon Fire and Rescue Service
Clean Energy Systems
AF&RS has partnered with Solarsense to design, supply and install a range of renewable energy and low carbon technologies at their Bedminster, Nailsea, Lansdown and Southmead Stations, as well as Nova Way Technical Centre. These projects have all been grant-funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Combining a range of integrated clean energy technologies, including solar panels, battery storage, solar thermal and heat pumps across five sites in the Southwest, phase one of the AF&RS clean energy project will generate carbon savings of more than 127,117 kg/year. The project was awarded Clean Energy Scheme of the Year at the Regen Green Energy Awards 2022.
The partnership also provides the Service with an on-going mechanism to deliver additional future projects as part of AF&RS Net Zero carbon commitment including EV charge points in a move towards piloting electric fire engines in the near future.
By integrating a variety of different clean energy technologies, AF&RS are able to maximise both their carbon and financial savings, whilst improving their infrastructure and demonstrating their commitment to tackling climate change.
Annabel Harford, Environmental Manager at AF&RS, said: “We are delighted to have this grant-funded opportunity to accelerate the decarbonisation of our buildings. These initial projects as part of phase one are predicted to deliver an annual carbon reduction of almost 7% and will help to generate important savings to reinvest in future projects, as our reliance on fossil fuels and imported energy decreases.”
Technologies installed
- Bedminster - solar panels, air source heat pump
- Lansdown - solar panels, air source heat pump and battery storage
- Nailsea - solar panels and battery storage
- Nova Way - solar panels and battery storage
- Southmead - solar panels, solar thermal, air source heat pump and battery storage
COP26 and road to Net Zero
