The Head of Corporate Strategy submitted a report to Cabinet on 16 June 2021 seeking a recommendation to full Council for the approval of the loan to Low Carbon Hub to support investment in the Ray Valley Solar Project.

The Cabinet decisions are set out in the minutes of that meeting (included in this agenda). Cllr Hayes, the Cabinet Member, will present the report and propose Cabinet’s recommendations.

Recommendations: Cabinet recommends that Council resolves to

Approve a loan to Low Carbon Hub of up to £3,385,200 together with the associated capital budget for investment in the in the Ray Valley Solar (RVS) local renewable energy project. The investment will be fully funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant awarded to the council by Salix Finance Ltd a wholly owned Government department funded by the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Department (BEIS).

Council considered the report of the Head of Corporate Strategy submitted to Cabinet on 16 June 2021 seeking a recommendation to full Council for the approval of the loan to Low Carbon Hub to support investment in the Ray Valley Solar Project.

The Cabinet decisions are set out in the minutes of that meeting (included in this agenda).

Cllr Hayes, the Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon Oxford, introduced the report, proposed the recommendations and answered questions.

The recommendations were agreed on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to:

Approve a loan to Low Carbon Hub of up to £3,385,200 together with the associated capital budget for investment in the in the Ray Valley Solar (RVS) local renewable energy project. The investment will be fully funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant awarded to the council by Salix Finance Ltd a wholly owned Government department funded by the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Department (BEIS).

The Head of Corporate Strategy has submitted a report to seek a Cabinet recommendation to full Council for the approval of the loan to Low Carbon Hub to support investment in the Ray Valley Solar Project.

Recommendations: That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Recommend to Council the approval of a loan to Low Carbon Hub of up to £3,385,200 together with the associated capital budget for investment in the in the Ray Valley Solar (RVS) local renewable energy project. The investment will be fully funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant awarded to the council by Salix Finance Ltd a wholly owned Government department funded by the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Department (BEIS);

2.    Delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Strategy in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford to enter into a loan agreement with Low Carbon Hub on terms to be agreed by the Head of Financial Services/Section 151 Officer; and the Council’s Monitoring Officer;

3.    Note the reduction in the City Council’s carbon emissions of up to an estimated 1,000 tCO2 per year from the solar farm investment, evidenced by the transfer of high quality, traceable Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) from RVS in support of the Council’s 2030 zero carbon target for its estate and operations; and

4.    Note the update provided on the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme programme.

The Head of Corporate Strategy had submitted a report to seek a Cabinet recommendation to full Council for the approval of the loan to Low Carbon Hub to support investment in the Ray Valley Solar Project.

Cllr Tom Hayes, Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon  Oxford, introduced the report which sought agreement to invest c. £3.4m of government funding in the Low Carbon Hub’s Ray Valley Solar Farm which would, in turn, result in an annual payment back to the Council of c. £177,000. This represented a good example of the Council pursuing a policy of community owned energy support. The Council had supported the Low Carbon Hub for over a decade to promote community owned energy. This development would lead to the country’s largest community owned solar park, capable of generating enough energy to power the equivalent of over 6,000 homes a year.

The Chair echoed Cllr Hayes’s thanks to Mish Tullar, Head of Corporate Strategy, for his work on this complex project which was having  to be done at a great pace in order to meet the conditions of the government funding. 

Cabinet resolved to:

1.Recommend to Council the approval of a loan to Low Carbon Hub of up to £3,385,200 together with the associated capital budget for investment in the in the Ray Valley Solar (RVS) local renewable energy project. The investment to be fully funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant awarded to the council by Salix Finance Ltd a wholly owned Government department funded by the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Department (BEIS);

2.Delegate authority to the Head of Corporate Strategy in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford to enter into a loan agreement with Low Carbon Hub on terms to be agreed by the Head of Financial Services/Section 151 Officer; and the Councils Monitoring Officer;

3.Note the reduction in the City Council’s carbon emissions of up to an estimated 1,000 tCO2 per year from the solar farm investment, evidenced by the transfer of high quality, traceable Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) from RVS in support of the Council’s 2030 zero carbon target for its estate and operations; and

4.Note the update provided on the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme programme.