Greater Manchester sets out plans to decarbonise energy infrastructure

Greater Manchester leaders have set out their plans to change energy infrastructure in the city-region as part of plans to achieve net-zero by 2038.

Following a meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) on 30th September, the city-region has become the first in the country to produce and adopt Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs), putting forward a detailed pathway of changes needed to meet carbon-neutral goals. GMCA has agreed 10 LAEPs for each of the city-region’s boroughs, as well as an overarching one for all of Greater Manchester, that set out a roadmap to decarbonise energy infrastructure.

Over the next five years, the plans set out the following measures:

• 140,000 additional homes with fabric retrofit
• Nearly 2 GW of additional rooftop solar panels on homes
• 190,000 vehicles replaced by electric alternatives
• 8,000 additional homes connected to heat networks
• 116,000 additional heat pumps in homes

To achieve net-zero by 2038, the city-region will need to see over 1 million homes heated with heat pumps. Infrastructure will also be needed for a million electric vehicles on the roads, underlining the need to enhance Greater Manchester’s local electricity network and to find options for flexibility on the grid. As such, a key focus of LAEPs is to:

• Set out priority areas for different elements of the energy system in Greater Manchester, including insulation measures
• Identify areas where heat pumps and heat networks are cost effective to use. Action in these areas could transition the heating systems of around 120,000 homes, making them both less reliant on carbon and more affordable to heat.
• Identify priority/opportunity areas for the introduction of other technologies at pace
• Continue to build capability, capacity and understanding so further wide-scale transition can be delivered

Cllr Martyn Cox, Lead for Green City Region and Waste, said: 

“The need for us to make systematic changes to the way we produce and consume energy is absolutely vital and in Greater Manchester we intend to drive that on a local level. 

“We’re serious about making the changes needed to reach our target of making Greater Manchester carbon neutral by 2038 and we are once again leading the way by becoming the first city region in the country to develop and adopt Local Area Energy Plans.

“Our plans reduce uncertainty around what changes and initiatives each district in Greater Manchester need to make to drive us to a decarbonised future. By providing a strong roadmap and sense of direction, we want to encourage greater investment in low carbon technologies and business growth in sectors which support the net zero carbon transition.  At the same time, our carbon-friendly solutions will reduce people’s cost of living with lower energy bills and more attractive and affordable public transport, creating a greener and fairer Greater Manchester.”