Nottingham City Council’s Headquarters Loxley House and Minvers Sport Centre in Aspley have been shortlisted for two prestigious awards.
Minvers Sport Centre is a finalist in the Solar Power Portal Energy Awards, in the best use of solar in a community-setting category. The sports centre received a solar rooftop and state-of-the-art LED lighting. Works have significantly reduced the building’s carbon footprint, improved the internal lighting and reduced the energy bill by over £6,000 a year.
The Solar Power Portal Energy Awards recognise innovation and best practice in the field of renewable and clean energy. The competition is high as the awards attract many nominations from some of UK’s the biggest and most successful businesses in this sector.
A project to improve the energy efficiency of Loxley House was announced as a finalist in the inaugural year of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Innovation Awards.
To reduce its grid energy demand, Loxley House has had solar panels installed on its rooftop and an IT project has involved the virtualisation of server equipment to make significant energy savings. This builds on Loxley House’s existing green credentials including its connection to Enviroenergy’s low carbon district heating network for its heat, hot water and electricity. The buildings has substantially reduced its energy demand and nearly all of its energy needs are met through green energy sources.
APSE (the Association for Public Service Excellence) has launched the Innovation Awards, celebrating outstanding local councils that use innovative ideas and solutions to tackle the current challenges facing their frontline services. The awards provide participating authorities with an opportunity to showcase their expertise, alongside the results that they have achieved.
Both projects are contributing towards the city’s energy strategy target to have 20% of the city’s own energy from zero or low carbon sources by 2020.