Theme / Energy Supply

Borehole drilling at Ernest Dence Estate

Borehole drilling at Ernest Dence Estate

The national electricity grid will not be entirely fossil-fuel-free by 2030. This means that even under a highly ambitious scenario for Royal Greenwich, in which there is widespread electrification of heating and transport, there may still be quite a lot of emissions coming from that electricity use. While changes to the national electricity grid ultimately rely on national policy, action can be taken locally to roll out decentralised, sustainable energy, to develop ‘smart’ approaches to how and when we use energy.

Progress so far

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has made progress on sustainable and decentralised energy in recent years, but must now step up its action: 

  • we have installed solar panels on 8 blocks of flats since 2016 and further installations are planned
  • we are engaged in a London-wide programme – Solar Together – through which 130 homes have registered to install solar panels
  • South East London Community Energy (SELCE) have undertaken installations of solar panels on some of the borough’s schools (in 2016) and leisure centres (in 2020)
  • we are undertaking a borough-wide District Heat Network feasibility study, to identify the best options for installing low carbon heat supplies
  • we are preparing a business case to assess the feasibility of installing ground source heat pumps in private sector housing, with heat sourced from shared ambient loops.