Two new carbon-cutting projects have become the first to get funding from Derbyshire County Council’s Green Entrepreneurs Fund as part of a countywide drive to help tackle climate change.
The council launched the £2 million fund in partnership with the University of Derby in March to support green economic recovery across Derbyshire by offering financial assistance to businesses and organisations interested in developing and investing in green energy and carbon reduction schemes.
Now grants of £20,000 have been awarded to the following initiatives to help get them off the ground:
- Longcliffe Quarries – to install new inverter equipment at their Brassington site which will significantly reduce their energy consumption and is expected to cut their carbon emissions – by 40,000kg of carbon dioxide emissions and equivalent gases each year
- Hayfield Sustainable Transport – to develop software to help businesses in the area organise themselves into transport groups and operate Micro Car Clubs, on-demand shuttles, and shared e-cargo bikes
Ian McDonald, development director at Longcliffe Quarries, said: “This funding will allow us to install variable frequency drives onto the process line which will provide us with enhanced motor control as well as the ability to drive our energy consumption down.
“We’re working towards installing and commissioning the new equipment by the end of the year which will help us on our challenging pathway of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2027.”
Roland Strube at Hayfield Sustainable Transport said: “We’re really pleased our bid to the Green Entrepreneurs Fund was successful. It means we can press ahead with plans to develop an online platform that makes it possible for users and organisations to participate in developing the transport they need by establishing financial viability online before any transport is provided on the ground.”
Councillor Tony King, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Clean Growth and Regeneration, said: “This is a really exciting milestone for the Green Entrepreneurs Fund which is offering businesses the confidence and financial back-up they need to help turn their pioneering ideas into reality.
“These projects will help us along on our journey to cutting the county’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. And by championing this type of business innovation, we believe that Derbyshire can become a leader in the field in the development of green energy, bringing a unique opportunity to bring greater benefits to local communities and local economic conditions to create high quality jobs driven by utilising the local skills base in engineering and manufacturing.”
Professor Kathryn Mitchell DL, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with the county council to deliver this unique opportunity for businesses. It forms part of the university’s ongoing commitment to support the shift to a greener economy across the region and beyond.
“It is exciting to see the first businesses using the fund and we look forward to working with more of the entrepreneur community to make Derbyshire synonymous with sustainable business.”
In addition to grants for alternative energy, clean fuel, low carbon or carbon reduction schemes, a £100,000 training fund has also been set aside to support individuals to retrain with skills to enable them to enter the field of alternative energy.
