Strategic Energy Partnership for Net Zero

Find out why we're exploring the creation of a Strategic Energy Partnership, and how we're engaging partners and offering opportunities to invest in city‑wide energy decarbonisation.

About the Strategic Energy Partnership

We're exploring the creation of a Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP) to deliver city‑wide energy decarbonisation at scale and pace. 

In 2024 we commissioned a Decarbonisation Pathways Report. The report identified a coherent and achievable pipeline of priority projects across heat, power, buildings and transport. It outlined that a capital investment of nearly £2.6 billion would be needed to decarbonise the city’s energy system. This figure includes investment from property owners, but excludes grid reinforcement costs.

As a council we have a strong track record of climate leadership, and we've developed a clear, data‑driven roadmap to Net Zero. Yet the scale of city-wide change needed goes far beyond what the public sector alone can provide. We're now exploring whether a Strategic Energy Partnership can provide the right long-term vehicle to:

  • unlock investment
  • accelerate delivery
  • generate community benefit
  • share risk appropriately between the public and private sector

Preliminary Market Engagement

We're seeking early input from the market to help shape a future Strategic Energy Partnership and inform further procurement moving forward.

This Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) is an opportunity for organisations with relevant expertise to provide insight on how a long‑term public‑private partnership could be structured to deliver high‑impact energy infrastructure and services across the city, whilst creating long-term value for both the city and its partners.

We'll use the information and feedback we gather from the PME to inform our decision-making and the design of any future procurement.

Key documents

Strategic Energy Partnership prospectus

The prospectus sets out the strategic context, opportunity, and benefits of partnering with us. 

Read our SEP Prospectus

PME information document

Get further detail on the purpose and scope of the Preliminary Market Engagement. 

Read our PME information document

Preliminary Market Engagement notice

Read our PME notice on the GOV.UK website.

 

Read our PME notice

Webinar and survey feedback

On 23 February we held a webinar to introduce the Strategic Energy Partnership opportunity.

Watch a recording of the webinar below

Interested parties were encouraged to provide their views on a potential Strategic Energy Partnership through our preliminary market engagement survey.

The survey is now closed, and we're conducting follow‑on discussions with selected respondents.

Next Steps

Following on from the PME:

  • if necessary, we'll produce an FAQ, based on questions raised during the PME webinar and submitted through the survey
  • we may progress to a formal procurement process for a Strategic Energy Partnership. This will be subject to internal approvals and the outcomes of the PME, and we'll publish official procurement notices on the SE Shared Services eSourcing Portal
  • we'll update this webpage as the project progresses