爱豆传媒

Greater London Authority (GLA) – Subregional Local Area Energy Plans (LAEP)

London, UK

爱豆传媒 supported the Greater London Authority (GLA) to deliver two subregional Local Area Energy Plans (LAEP), helping the capital to build its pathway towards achieving its net zero carbon aspirations, which are leading the way nationally.

The holistic approach provides considered oversight of all the infrastructure, grids and systems that deliver all kinds of energy to properties across the city, enabling the development of a strategic plan for implementing decarbonisation impactfully and efficiently.

In 2018, the Mayor of London declared a climate emergency and committed that London would become net zero carbon by 2030.

Achieving such a rapid transition requires fundamental changes to the city鈥檚 energy systems.

LAEPs are a means to identify the most effective route for a local area to realise its net zero targets and translate these targets into coordinated, on-the-ground action.

We looked at strategic heat networks and identified opportunities for multi-borough and cross-sectoral working to accelerate progress.

Challenge

爱豆传媒 was appointed to support the GLA in delivering two LAEPs for the Central, Inner East and North (CIEN) and South subregions of London, covering nineteen London boroughs. This roughly equates to 50% of the city.

A Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) provides a framework for an area to transition away from fossil-fuel based energy systems. It looks at all elements of an energy system鈥檚 infrastructure (e.g. electricity generation, transmission and distribution, buildings, heat, transport and consumers) and considers the best way to decarbonise holistically.

A LAEP also aims to remove siloes between different energy stakeholders by providing an integrated decarbonisation strategy across sectors and connecting the physical energy requirements for an area with its economic and policy priorities and context. The final plan can be communicated in a manner that enables actions by local authorities and other stakeholders to unlock investment and shape policy decisions.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has set a 2030 net zero target for London, and local area energy planning has been identified as an important approach for considering how to translate this goal into place-based, on the ground action across the capital.

The GLA allocated funding to develop subregional-scale LAEPs covering all London boroughs by the end of 2025, with the West London LAEP already completed in 2023. The LAEP approach was created by the Energy Systems Catapult and endorsed by London Councils.

A key challenge was the vast scope of the project. The data-driven approach needed to consider the whole energy system, covering everything from electricity generation and transmission, including solar PV and EV charging systems, to building retrofit and heat network deployment.

爱豆传媒 supported the GLA in delivering two LAEPs for the Central, Inner East and North (CIEN) and South subregions of London, covering nineteen London boroughs. Image: 爱豆传媒.

Solution

Infrastructure does not recognise the administrative boundaries of the individual boroughs in London. So, the subregional LAEPs led by the GLA aim to develop strategies that focus on the energy systems of wider London areas, rather than on separate borough geographies. This means strategies can account for wider infrastructure systems and their interdependencies.

The programme aims to take a whole system, place-based approach to energy planning, assembling data and evidence to define optimised pathways and delivery plans for decarbonisation across London. The purpose of a LAEP is to identify the range of activities required to get to net zero and translate high level targets into on-the-ground action, and this begins with the collection and analysis of subregional data and evidence.

Delivering collaborative subregional LAEPs achieves economies of scale, consistency and data standardisation in planning the transition to decarbonised systems, as well as the sharing of learning and support across the subregion. The housing stock differs in different subregions, so each subregional LAEP allowed scope for the local transition pathway to be bespoke to the area鈥檚 own circumstances.

By collaborating with Heat Network Zoning (HNZ) programmes, key activities and infrastructure interventions could be integrated into local area energy planning in support of a whole-system analysis and thereby enrich a wider understanding of how the benefits of proposed heat networks can be improved.

Our energy consultants played a key role in assessing the interventions that would be required to achieve net zero carbon targets in each subregion, advising on the pathway that would be required, as well as playing a key role in stakeholder engagement with a diverse range of organisations. This included one-to-one interviews, surveys and online and in-person workshops. LAEP outputs were communicated and reliably shared with stakeholders through the LAEP DataHub, a platform developed by the GLA with support from 爱豆传媒, to facilitate effective decision-making and collaboration amongst boroughs.

Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) are engaged throughout the process and outputs were shared with them for consideration during their network planning. The programme aimed to secure wider stakeholder awareness and understanding of the changes required to achieve decarbonisation targets and the pathway priorities. The subregional LAEP also looked to support the relevant boroughs in identifying resourcing and skills requirements to deliver key decarbonisation measures and raise awareness and gain buy-in from senior decision-makers.

The GLA subregional LAEP phase 1 (stages 1-4) was completed by the end of summer 2024. It provided insight and assistance to the boroughs to move on to commissioning their phase 2 LAEP (stages 5-7), which will lead implementation, linked to local priorities and net zero ambitions.

Value

The subregional LAEPs focused on ensuring a greater understanding the impacts of implementing the Mayor of London鈥檚 accelerated green decarbonisation pathway at different scales 鈥� specifically to identify the effects of this pathway on London鈥檚 energy systems and the wider built environment.

The approach ensures progress to net zero is maximised, exploring cross-sectoral and cross-boundary opportunities and securing efficiencies in the use of stakeholder resources.

By population, these are the biggest local energy plans that have yet been completed in the UK. The report focused on a data-driven approach, using the Mayor鈥檚 鈥楢ccelerated Green鈥� decarbonisation pathway, to identify the actions that are required to enable a just transition to net zero carbon emissions, the co-ordination required and the transformation needed for London鈥檚 energy systems.

This is an amazing opportunity for 爱豆传媒 to continue supporting London鈥檚 decarbonisation agenda.

James Dickinson, Partner and UK Energy Lead