Attendees
| Meg Booth | Devon County Council (Chair) |
| Doug Eltham | Devon County Council (Environment Group) |
| Emily Reed | Devon Climate Emergency |
| Jason Ball | Mid Devon District Council |
| John Amosford | Public Health Devon |
| Ben Carwardine | Wales and West Utilities |
| Victoria Hatfield | Exeter City Council |
| Chris Clarke | Wales and West Utilities |
| David Eaton | Teignbridge District Council |
| Mark Burton | South West Net Zero Hub |
| Joel Venn | Regen |
| Matthew Blythe | East Devon District Council |
| Adam Williams | South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council |
| Polly Frost | Devon County Council (Economy Team) |
1. Minutes of the previous meeting and matters arising
The minutes were accepted to be a true record. No further questions asked.
2. Progress on Renewable Energy in Devon
Doug introduced Joel Venn from Regen, who went on to present the updated Renewable Energy Progress report for Devon, commissioned by Devon County Council.
Joel introduced Regen, which is an independent non-profit energy think tank and consultancy based in Exeter.
The Renewable Energy Progress Report for Devon is an analysis of Devon’s renewable energy generation compared to its total energy consumption.
Joel drew attention to some key points in the report, including:
- Energy Consumption and Generation:
- Devon consumes approximately 23 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy annually.
- Around 2 TWh of this is generated from renewable sources, equating to about 8% of total energy consumption.
- For electricity, Devon consumes about 4 TWh and generates over 1 TWh from renewables, covering approximately 27% of its electricity consumption.
- Local Variability:
- Significant local differences in renewable energy generation.
- Torridge and North Devon lead in renewable electricity generation due to onshore wind projects.
- Other areas like South Hams, Mid Devon, and East Devon have more solar energy contributions.
- Trends and Future Projections:
- Overall energy consumption in Devon has decreased by about 1% per year since 2005.
- Renewable electricity generation has increased, but there is still a long way to go.
- Future projections suggest that as Devon moves towards electrification and away from fossil fuels, renewable generation will become more efficient and impactful.
Joel concluded the presentation and opened the floor for questions.
Meg asked how Devon compared to national levels of renewable energy generation, in comparison to energy consumption. Joel responded that Devon is below national figures for renewables as a portion of total energy ( 8% of Devon’s total energy consumption is generated by renewables in Devon) and for electricity ( 27% of Devon’s total electricity consumption, compared to 47% as the UK average). However, national figures reflect that Scotland has considerably more onshore wind and include nationally significant offshore wind installations. In comparison to the wider Westcountry, Joel doesn’t think Devon is doing badly, though there has been little progress in the last decade. Devon also has a number of protected National Landscapes. Current larger installations are also often quite old. But there has been a recent resurgence of rooftop photovoltaic installations. The rate of heat pump uptake is also increasing significantly.
Chris Clarke suggested that the figures might not reflect the contributions of biogas to the grid, which Devon produces a lot of. Secondly, the figures also don’t account for Devon’s apportionment of clean energy from nationally significant generation such as nuclear.
Doug updated the group on the work of the Devon Local Area Energy Planning Group. The methodology for local energy planning in Devon follows a seven-stage process, initially funded by Innovate UK. Devon has partnered with the Southwest Net Zero Hub and four other county authorities to complete the first three stages, which involve stakeholder engagement and mapping the current energy system. A consultant will assist with these stages until June. Future stages will focus on selecting energy pathways, required technologies, and infrastructure, leading to a five-year action plan.
Polly asked how we will account for nationally significant assets. Doug responded that this is something that will be considered by the Energy Planning Group, in developing the Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP). Regional Energy Strategic Plans will help guide a consistent approach to this, but we need to understand from DESNZ how they will interact with LAEPs. But we can be sure that nationally significant infrastructure like X links and floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea can’t be claimed exclusively by the Southwest for their renewables figures.
Victoria highlighted the importance of getting more rooftop solar, which Doug agreed with, but qualified that the Clean Power 2030 report makes it clear that significant increases in field scale solar will also be needed to achieve the scale required. Joel added that the scale of projects currently sitting in planning is broadly equivalent to what we need for the net zero energy system. Highlighting the key role of local authorities in achieving net zero, which is planning and enabling infrastructure development.
3. Progress Reports
3.1 General Progress Report
The group considered the Progress Report appended to these minutes.
Emily highlighted that since the overview progress report was distributed, the Climate Emergency Support Officer position has been offered to a candidate who she hopes to introduce in the new year.
The Climate Impacts Group had a successful in-person meeting and plans to continue overseeing the strategy, develop sectoral subgroups, and create communication and engagement plans. Additionally, the Climate Task Force met in December and will share their recommendations in January. They were pleased to hear that the workshop with the Carbon Trust is proceeding.
Chris suggested that the change in government and possibly the 2030 Clean Power Report might address some of the risks on the register.
ACTION: Emily to update the Progress Report Risk Register.
3.2 Energy and Cross Cutting Themes Progress Report
Emily highlighted that since the report was compiled, a new draft of the National Planning Policy Framework has been published, impacting several actions, such as the repowering of existing renewables.
Emily drew attention to a number of amber rated actions, such as C6, which are affected by local planning team capacities. Issues like capital availability and construction costs are affecting the development of renewable energy projects (Action E1.2) , though not preventing new projects coming forward. Positive developments include solar farm opportunities being explored by Devon County Council and offshore renewable benefits for the County (Action E 1.4) . Work continues on green hydrogen clusters (Action E1.6) and low carbon heat networks (Action E1.7) are being further explored, with progress in North Devon, Exeter and Plymouth.
ACTION: Emily to speak with Sarah Ratnage to arrange a presentation on the changes to the NPPF which relate to the Devon Carbon Plan and Climate Adaptation Strategy.
ACTION: Meg to supply words regarding the importance of managing transport disruption through the infrastructure works for heat networks in Exeter.
4. Net Zero Delivery Challenges and Successes
The group discussed net zero delivery challenges and successes. Doug highlighted the adoption of a revised Carbon Reduction Plan and a Low Carbon Supply Chain Strategy by Devon County Council, aiming for 50% of spend to be covered by carbon reduction commitments.
Polly mentioned a successful meeting with Network Rail on natural flood management. Adam shared achievements in South Hams and West Devon, including EV fleet replacements and solar installations. Victoria discussed a new report on achieving net zero for the City Council. The meeting concluded with positive updates and a focus on continued efforts in the new year.
Appendix 1 – Project Progress Report
Period: November to December 2024
1. Partnership Update
1.1 General Communications
Follower numbers grew by 3.3% for Linked In during November. Instagram and Facebook saw growth of less than 1% and You Tube saw no growth. However, the newsletter and X saw slight declines in following. Newsletter subscribers are still higher than at the at beginning of October though. The reduced capacity of the team following the resignation of the Climate Emergency Support Officer is impacting on channel growth, though for X it is compounded by challenges around changes to the culture of the channel. Recruitment is underway for a new Climate Emergency Support Officer.
1.2 Partners’ Notable Activity
Activity is recorded centrally on the Taking Action pages of the Devon Climate Emergency website.
- A £16 million pound cash injection to provide more green jobs, as well as affordable homes, sheltered accommodation and business growth in Devon and Torbay has been confirmed by Government.
- Devon County Council and Torbay Council consult on Local Transport Plan and Devon Countywide Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.
- £1.8m Green Impact Fund for local businesses and community organisation offered and oversubscribed.
2. Oversight of the Devon Carbon Plan
The Progress Reports detailing known activity against each action are on the website. A summary of the number of actions categorised by each RAG status is provided below, split by theme.
Note that each theme of the carbon plan is reviewed every 6 months, which means the RAG status will not change significantly within the monthly periods of this progress report.
Blue = Completed
Green = Generally progressing well
Amber = Progressing but geography or scope is limited
Red = Not started or activity significantly limited
Grey = Not yet assessed
Built Environment
Common Issues:
- Finance required to expand geography
- Finance required for more people resource, particularly spatial planning
- Uncertainty regarding the implications of a written ministerial statement on Local Plans.
Economy and Resources
Common Issues:
- Clearer guidance from government on aspects of waste management needed
- Finance required for more people resource
Energy Supply
Common Issues:
- Availability of capital finance
Food, Land and Sea
Common Issues:
- Complexity of agendas, e.g. Land Use Framework and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
- Finance required to expand geography and scope
Transport
Common Issues:
- Public concern about EVs and reallocating highway space for sustainable modes
- Grid capacity
- Availability of capital finance
Cross-Cutting Themes
Common Issues:
- Finance required for more people resource, particularly spatial planning
- Finance required to expand geography
The first phase of monitoring indicators are online. The University of Exeter has helped to expand the indicator set, which will be added to the web page early in the new year.
3. Oversight of the Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Climate Adaptation Strategy
The Climate Impacts Group is continuing its programme to review all the risks and near-term actions each year. No change to the RAG ratings this month.
4. Feedback from the Climate Task Force
The Devon Climate Task Force held its latest quarterly meeting in September. The meeting discussed the importance of the Partnership focussing its efforts onto issues that are underperforming and over which local actors have influence. Ian Hutchcroft and Ashish Ghadiali represented the Task Force’s views at the Response Group meeting on November 7th . They acknowledged the progress the partnership has made to date and highlighted the need for a reassessment of priorities and implementation strategies to accelerate progress towards the Devon carbon plan’s goals.
5. Devolution Update
As part of Devon County Council and Torbay Council’s devolution deal, £16 million pounds of capital funding has been agreed by Government. The cash injection will provide more green jobs, as well as affordable homes, sheltered accommodation and business growth in Devon and Torbay.
The devolution deal funding for Devon and Torbay includes support for significant sustainability initiatives around green jobs and skills, energy efficiency and renewable energy and sustainable business and innovation. You can read about the specific initiatives being funded here: Devolution deal capital funding supports affordable homes, green jobs and economic growth – Devon and Torbay Devolution Deal.
