Cardiff unveils new decarbonisation measures in its Green Growth Proposition

Cardiff Council has developed a Green Growth Proposition – a focused programme built around two major areas where the Council believes it can directly influence change.

The first area is expanding local renewable energy. Subject to funding and business case approval, the Council intends to develop:

• A 14MW Solar Innovation Hub at the Lamby Way recycling centre, with battery storage and EV charging for the waste fleet.
• A city‑wide renewables pipeline, identifying sites suitable for large‑scale solar and wind investments.
• An expansion of the Cardiff Heat Network, where plans are already in development to extend into the city centre.
• A programme to deliver solar PV and energy technologies on industrial and commercial buildings, starting with those that the Council owns.

The second priority is scaling up domestic energy retrofit, given the Council calculates there are around 91,000 homes across the city in need of retrofit. The Green Growth programme also sets out proposals, subject to funding and business case approval, to:

• Expand the Switch Together collective buying scheme (previously known as Solar Together) to increase installation of domestic solar energy systems, with Phase Two of this initiative already active.
• Roll out a new Warm Homes for Health partnership with NHS colleagues, to support residents whose health conditions are worsened by cold homes.
• Deliver a citywide retrofit engagement hub to give residents clear, trusted advice.

The Council is also considering approving work with the Welsh Government to develop an area-based domestic energy retrofit pilot scheme. The pilot scheme would enable households in fuel poverty to access funding for energy efficiency measures, installed by vetted installers, at no additional cost.

The Council said it will also explore ways to support other “able to pay” households to access the quality assured installers used by the public sector, ‘in order to build greater confidence and certainty in achieving lower energy costs and more sustainable, healthier homes.’

Independent research commissioned by the Council shows that every £1 invested in retrofit could generate £5 in health and economic benefits, including reductions in NHS costs and improved wellbeing for residents.

It said the pilot would aim to provide real-world data on the health, social and economic benefits of retrofit work and provide justification for future upscaling – as well as stimulating wider uptake of retrofit measures and renewed interest from installers, providing quality assurance and ensuring controlled installation standards.

It is also proposed that the Council issues Local Climate Bonds, allowing residents and businesses to invest directly in local green projects and receive a fixed return. Up to £1 million could potentially be raised through this new mechanism, the Council said.

It added that 16 local authorities in the UK have already used Local Climate Bonds to deliver over £18 million of investment in climate-related projects since 2020. Any scheme in Cardiff would be subject to further approval as part of the annual budget setting process in March 2026.