The UK and Welsh Governments have approved the £505m Swansea Bay City Deal’s Homes as Power Stations project.
Homes as Power Stations will facilitate the take up of energy efficient design and technologies in 1,000s of homes throughout South West Wales.
Residents and businesses in Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea are set to benefit.
Led by Neath Port Talbot Council, the project will help people save money on their energy bills; contribute to cutting carbon emissions in the Swansea Bay City Region; improve health and well-being; and benefit regional supply chain businesses.
Working with Registered Social Landlords, private developers and other partners, the project will use energy efficient design and technologies to retrofit 7,000 homes throughout the City Region as part of the project, with a further 3,300 new build homes also set to benefit.
The green light from both governments means Homes as Power Stations can now start drawing down on a £15m Swansea Bay City Deal investment.
Cllr Edward Latham, Neath Port Talbot Council leader, said: “The intention is to initially prove the Homes as Power Stations concept within the public sector at a relatively small scale before ramping up activity in other sectors.
“This will demonstrate the viability of the concept to the rest of Wales and the UK, helping create a new industry in the Swansea Bay City Region.”
Economy minister Vaughan Gething said: “Perhaps the most important commitments in our recently published programme for government is to embed Wales’ response to the climate and nature emergency in everything we do. This is a transformation which can start in our local communities, with a focus on locally-generated renewable energy and avoiding waste.”
The Homes as Power Stations project is aligned to several other City Deal projects, including digital infrastructure, skills and talent, and supporting innovation and low carbon growth. The project is also aligned to the work of the Active Building Centre at Swansea University, which is the UK centre of excellence for transforming construction, and it builds upon the Active Buildings design concept pioneered by Swansea University’s SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre.