Last month, we took a look back at all the incredible work that’s been done in line with the Devon Carbon Plan – Devon’s roadmap to net-zero by 2050 – since its publication a year ago.
See our ‘Taking Action’ highlights below!
There’s a range of support for net-zero skills and support for innovation in sustainable agriculture and aquaculture:
- Free Train4Tomorrow Skills Bootcamps, delivered by Devon County Council and Cornwall Council, were made available in sectors such as regenerative farming, electric vehicle maintenance and green construction
- The University of Exeter joined MarRI-UK to accelerate low-carbon technological innovation in the maritime sector
- The Devon Agri-Tech Alliance will support Devon’s agricultural sector
- Devon County Council’s Green Innovation Fund is helping Algapelago Marine Ltd to create a pilot seaweed farm and research how it can capture carbon
Plymouth Boat Trips eVoyager – the UK’s first electric ferry.
Devon is on the road to net-zero by reducing emissions from travel:
- More EV charging points are planned, or have already been installed, across Devon and the National Parks
- Walking and cycling networks are being improved and new ones created, such as Torridge’s Rolle Road, the Seaton Valley Nature Path and a new Exeter cycleway
- Connect Plymouth has launched and will offer a 500-strong fleet of electric bikes for hire from over 90 sites
- 3,700 solar panels are creating 1.2MW of clean, renewable energy to power ECC’s (TAG) electric fleet, recycling centre and offices
Buildings are becoming more efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels:
- Lower-income householders can apply for free energy efficiency improvements to their homes with the launch of Energy Saving Devon
- Results have been recorded from the EuroSWAC project, which used sea water to air condition buildings in Brixham
- Leisure centres in Teignbridge are undergoing multi-million pound carbon reduction works including greener energy systems, solar PV, LED lighting and battery energy storage
- The South West Net Zero Hub and Devon County Council have developed rural housing archetypes to support local retrofit
Brixham Laboratory.
Community energy groups are creating locally owned energy generation, councils are installing their own renewables and Devon is due to become home to green hydrogen generation:
- Yealm Community Energy (YCE), has launched a community share offer to fund the transfer of three nearby operational solar farms into community ownership. The farms will save over 130,000 tonnes of carbon over their lifetimes
- The Totnes Renewable Energy Society (TRESOC) has launched the South West’s first smart local energy system
- The Clean Energy Powerhouse Prospectus – developed by Regen – has said that the Great South West of England is set to become one of the leading providers of low carbon energy in the UK by 2035.
- The Langage Green Hydrogen project will use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen fuel. The development will have an initial capacity of 10 MW, which will produce enough hydrogen to heat the equivalent of 14,000 homes
- Devon County Council’s Community Energy Fund has funded several projects to create new energy companies, deliver additional training places, and engage communities in the Community Energy sector
YCE Team at Creacombe solar farm (L to R: Peter Brown, Stephen Brown, Tracy Ebbrell, Ray Holland, Dominic Crawley).
There’s research happening locally that will shape the world beyond Devon:
- Experts from the University of Exeter are part of pan-European project ICARIA, which aims to improve resilience to extreme weather events.
- The ‘AI for Net Zero’ project, led by researchers from the University of Exeter, will help to determine the best locations and species for tree planting.
- University of Plymouth researchers are contributing to the Stronger Shores initiative to make coastlines and communities stronger in the face climate impacts.
- The Universities of Exeter and Plymouth are involved in the Future Fibres Network+ project to drive the decarbonisation of the fashion industry.
- A University of Plymouth-led project has installed specially-designed concrete panels to create new marine habitats on the edge of the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. They will be monitored over the coming months.
People installing special concrete panels to support wildlife on the edge of the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.
Communities are supporting local sustainability, and businesses are forging a circular economy:
- Over 800 volunteers from Devon and across the UK joined forces for the BIG FIX 2023, to help 2242 residents fix their broken belongings and prevent them from going to waste.
- Volunteers at Exeter Central Library and St Thomas Library are running community fridge initiatives to address food waste.
- Devon-based Altilium Metals are the only company in the UK recovering critical battery minerals from waste EV batteries, a project supported by DCC’s Green Innovation Funding.
- Exeter City Council and Circular 11 have teamed up to recycle low value waste plastics collected from local doorsteps, as well as from litter picks and beach cleans, into benches.
Local community fridges.
