Leaders in low carbon energy solutions gathered in Durham to discuss green issues.
Greener, renewable energy was the hot topic of a major conference last week, organised by Durham County Council. This formed part of the REBUS programme (Renovation for Energy Efficient Buildings), a European partnership project that aims to share knowledge on best practices for making buildings energy efficient.
The REBUS Mid Term conference focused on sharing knowledge and looked to develop new, low carbon opportunities across County Durham and the wider region.
The conference built upon the strategic vision for County Durham, as Durham County Council shared its outcomes from the project, including a focus on using renewable heat (from minewater) to replace gas as a heat source and a schools LED lighting retrofit project called ‘Enlighten’.
Cllr John Clare, Cabinet Support Member for Economic Regeneration, who opened the conference, said: “Our commitment to low carbon must be embedded in and run through everything that we do. There are just so many opportunities in Durham.”
A range of speakers from national government attended, including Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), national organisations; The Coal Authority, regional agencies; North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP), Durham Energy Institute, and the European Institute for Innovation from Germany.
Rich Hurst, REBUS manager said: “We are delighted to have been able to attract such a strong list of speakers connected with the low carbon sector. We know that delegates found it an informative and useful day which will develop new project ideas for the county and wider north east region.”
The event was funded by Interreg Europe as part of the REBUS programme. The council has been engaged in this project for three years and is set to continue for another two years.