Barratt to deliver low and zero carbon homes

Housebuilder Barratt Developments plc and E.ON, one of the UK’s leading power and gas companies, have teamed up to deliver low cost and reliable solutions to meet the Government’s zero carbon homes agenda.

The alliance is the first of its kind in the UK and will draw on Barratt’s expertise in energy-efficient homes and E.ON’s world-wide experience in low-carbon energy technology and research and development facilities.

This will initially concentrate on 10 Barratt sites comprising several thousand homes across Great Britain and will explore the best technical solutions to meet planning requirements. Drawing on E.ON’s worldwide low carbon technology, the collaboration will provide the most cost effective and reliable energy solutions to Barratt’s new housing developments, ranging from combined heat and power plants to micro renewable technology for individual homes.

The initial sites are likely to include St Andrew’s, a former hospital in Bow where 20 per cent of the energy used will be renewable; the former Osbourne Refrigeration factory in Southampton which will comprise 90 residential units; and Hanham Hall, a 200-unit development near Bristol.

Hanham Hall will be the first zero carbon community to be built in the UK. It is the first of English Partnerships’ Carbon Challenge sites and will utilise a biomass CHP plant coupled with some of the most environmentally friendly homes ever to be built in the UK. Families living in the units will be able to cut their entire carbon footprint by an average of 60 per cent.

Graham Bartlett, Managing Director at E.ON Energy, said: “This is an exciting development for E.ON and our Sustainable Energy Solutions business which we launched last year.”

“We’re committed to being a leader in the development of low carbon energy solutions. This will play a key role in helping our customers, in this case Barratt, to achieve their low carbon objectives and help the Government to meet its carbon reduction targets.”

Mark Clare, CEO of Barratt Developments, said: “This collaboration will provide us with a competitive edge as finding the best low carbon energy solutions is a vital part of future housing developments. It will enable us to provide the lowest cost and most reliable way of cutting emissions for our customers.”