Peterborough City Council has received an extra £150,000 in government funding to help attract private investment for local energy projects, it was announced on 26 March 2026. This latest support from Innovate UK aims to accelerate the city’s efforts to lower carbon emissions and meet its long-term environmental goals.
The money will be used by council officers to build a portfolio of viable energy projects. By demonstrating the potential of these schemes, the council hopes to secure the private financing necessary to bring them to life. This initiative is part of FutureNow, which was formerly known as the Peterborough Accelerated Net Zero programme.
The council originally received £2.75m in 2024 to lead this work after being selected for the Net Zero Living Pathfinders programme. This project is a key part of the city’s plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040, a challenge estimated to require a total investment of £8.8 billion.
Peterborough has been working toward these targets since declaring a climate emergency in 2019, and since that time, carbon emissions in the city have fallen by 28.6 per cent. The city was also among the first in the country to adopt a Local Area Energy Plan, a strategy that covers 70 per cent of all emissions generated locally.
To deliver this programme, the council is working alongside several partners, including PECT, edenseven, Nordic Energy, Energy Systems Catapult, and Cambridgeshire County Council. Together, they are focusing on the planning and coordination needed to make sustainable energy improvements more accessible across the community.
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