Policy CR2
Minimising energy use and carbon emissions
The council has declared a climate and ecology emergency and set a target of becoming a net zero carbon borough by 2030. To help achieve this target, the council requires the following:
a) All developments are required to minimise energy use and maximise carbon savings from the inclusion of energy efficiency measures, on-site renewable energy generation and connection to and use of low carbon heat networks.
b) Major developments are required to meet the net zero carbon targets included in the London Plan and set by the GLA.
c) All other developments are required to demonstrate that they have reduced energy demand and associated carbon emissions as much as possible, with a minimum improvement of 35% over the relevant Building Regulations standards for energy use
d) To demonstrate compliance with these requirements, all applications are required to submit an Energy Assessment. This should be drafted with reference to relevant guidance provided by the council and also the GLA's Energy Planning Guidance and should follow the London Plan Energy Hierarchy.
e) Full details on baseline carbon emissions should be provided, along with carbon emissions saving achieved through energy efficiency and other on-site measures, including renewable energy generation and use of heat networks.
Where carbon emission reductions are maximised but unable to achieve net zero, major developments will be required to make a carbon offset payment to the council, calculated in line with the council's local carbon offset price mechanism.
5.10 In line with the Energy Hierarchy, developments should be designed to minimise energy demand through energy efficiency measures, connect to or integrate efficient energy supplies such as communal heat networks and incorporate on-site renewable energy generation. The aim of integrating these measures is to minimise carbon emissions and achieve net zero carbon or as close as possible through these on-site measures, meeting the London Plan carbon reduction targets.
As a starting point, developments should consider how passive measures such as orientation and layout can be used where possible to help minimise energy use demand by making best use of natural daylight and solar gain, without causing overheating. Inclusion of building elements with better performance than the minimum Building Regulation's standards will also help to reduce heat loss and energy use and associated carbon emissions.
5.11 Once energy efficiency measures have been maximised to help minimise a scheme's energy demand then developer's need to look at how any available secondary heat sources will be utilised. Proposals should also be included for supplying energy efficiently and cleanly through the use of communal heat networks. If a network is available in the local area, then connecting to this should be explored first. If this is not possible, including due to lack of current networks in the area, then developments should be developed to be "heat network ready". See Policy CR7 on Heath Networks for further information.
5.12 Major developments should report their total energy use intensity (EUI) and space heating demands and show that the GLA's targets as set out below are met. Overheating risks need to be managed in line with the requirements of the Local Plan Policy on Managing Overheating.
| Building Type | Energy Use Intensity (kWh/m2/year) | Space Heating (kWh/m2/year) |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 35 | 15 |
| School | 65 | 15 |
| Office | 55 | 15 |
| Hotel | 55 | 15 |
| All other non-residential | 55 | 15 |
5.13 Major developments are also required to include renewable energy generation on-site, which should be maximised. Opportunities to generate and store renewable energy (e.g. through battery or thermal storage) must be assessed and included where feasible to help increase renewable energy use and contribute to reducing peak demands.
Site assessments
5.14 A detailed site assessment should be carried out and detailed explanations and plans should be provided to show where renewables will be located within a scheme. The council is particularly keen to encourage the increased accessibility and use of clean solar energy wherever it is cost effective and appropriate to do so, including for people living in flats by the adoption of shared rooftop solar technologies such as virtual and physical microgrids. On existing buildings, solar panels can be installed in many cases as permitted development without planning permission being required. Additional information on this can be found on the council's website.
5.15 While these requirements are set out for major development scheme with the requirement to demonstrate compliance with the London Plan and GLA targets, there are many other developments taking place in the borough which do not qualify as a "major" scheme, but which still contribute to the borough's carbon emissions. These developments are also required to contribute to the council's net zero carbon target by integrating carbon reduction measures and the council will seek a minimum CO2 reduction of 35% for these types of development.
5.16 All major developments must monitor and report on their energy use post construction in line with the GLA's "Be Seen" Energy Monitoring Guidance. to help developers and planning authorities etc understand any differences between operational performance and modelled performance. Monitoring should be undertaken and reported through the GLA's reporting template for at least the first 5 years of a development's operation.
Carbon offset payments
5.17 If developments do not achieve net zero carbon through on-site measures alone, then the remaining carbon emissions will need to be dealt with via an offset payment to the council which will be used to help fund carbon reductions on other sites in the borough. The offset payment requirement should be calculated using the council's local cost of carbon pricing mechanism. This uses a sliding scale approach to calculating offset costs where a higher offset cost of carbon is charged where a greater proportion of carbon emissions need to be offset to reach net zero and progressively lower charges are applied as the carbon reduction performance improves. This is intended to incentivise the maximisation of on-site measures and to discourage the use of the offset payment to make up large shortfalls in meeting carbon reduction targets. Full details of the charges can be found online.
5.18 Developers should also check the requirements of related Local Plan on Circular Economy and Whole Life Cycle Carbon requirements.