Council will partner with banks and energy suppliers to make 10,000 properties more energy efficient

Birmingham Council is planning to carry out energy effieciency upgrades to over 10,000 properties in a 鈥檊reen deal鈥� that should be pushed through this week

According to a report in the Guardian, it will be the biggest project for retrofitting housing through an energy efficiency upgrade scheme yet seen in the UK and is worth around 拢100m.

The plan - Birmingham Energy Savers - will be jointly funded by Birmingham council together with investment from energy suppliers and commercial banks, and follows on form two pilot schemes.

Under the scheme, the commercial banks will provide half the up-front investment, supplemented by 拢25m from the energy companies and 拢25m borrowed by the council. Consumers will pay a levy on their energy bills to repay the loans.

The council, run by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, has been working on the idea of a Birmingham 鈥済reen new deal鈥� for the past year following the commitment made in 2006 to cut carbon emissions by 60% by 2026.

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