Decarbonising Bristol by 2030 is likely to be one of the most challenging infrastructure overhauls in the history of our city.

City Leap will play an essential role in this, it’s an ambitious energy project that will accelerate investment in our city, moving Bristol forward on our journey to net zero.

The scale of investment that is needed to make our city carbon neutral and climate resilience will likely total at least £10 billion.

We need to transform the way we generate, distribute, store and use energy at scale across our whole city.

£1 billion of international investment to accelerate change

The council has invested nearly £100 million in decarbonisation projects over the last five years, which includes completing the construction of Castle Park Energy Centre that houses England’s largest water source heat pump. However, we need to rapidly increase the scale and pace of low carbon delivery to be able to meet our targets.

Our City Leap Energy Partnership with Ameresco Limited and Vattenfall Heat UK will secure a twenty-year framework to enable over £1 billion of international investment into low carbon energy infrastructure such as solar PV, wind generation, zero carbon heat networks, smart energy systems, and other energy efficiency measures.

How will City Leap keep us on track for carbon neutrality?

In the first five years, the City Leap Energy Partnership’s contribution to carbon neutrality will include:

  • Installing over 182MW of zero carbon energy generation and delivering over 140,000 tonnes of carbon savings for Bristol;
  • Expanding Bristol’s Heat Network – a network of underground pipes that will provide local businesses and residents with reliable, affordable low-carbon heat from sustainable sources, such as taking heat from water, ground or air, reducing Bristol’s reliance on fossil fuels;
  • Installing solar panels and low carbon heating systems such as air source heat pumps at local schools;
  • Supporting the decarbonisation of the council’s social housing by introducing measures such as better insulation, solar panels and heat pumps to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of ‘C’ or better;
  • Boosting council and community-owned renewable energy projects across the city such as wind turbines and solar farms;
  • Offering decarbonisation support to public sector properties such as hospitals and schools to support Bristol’s wider efforts to be carbon neutral by 2030.

The partnership will also bring £61.5 million of social value to our city over the first five years, after we secured an initial £424 million of investment, with the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs, apprenticeships, and work placements.

Is this future possible to achieve?

Reducing carbon emissions and tackling the climate emergency is a huge challenge for everybody, but through our City Leap Energy Partnership, we’ve secured the funding, knowledge, and resources to accelerate our progress.

Collaborative action will usher a period of extraordinary innovation, investment, and growth – helping to make the just transition to net zero and securing Bristol’s reputation as a leading clean energy city for many years to come.

Bristol City Leap is a big deal for Bristol – it’s the most ambitious and exciting energy project that we have embarked on to accelerate clean energy investment and is a big step towards decarbonising our whole city and on our journey to net zero.