Early stage Local Area Energy Planning for Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire 

Project Summary

The Hub and local authorities in Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire commissioned Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) and Regen to work with them to complete Stages 1–3 of Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP).  

The project showed that focusing on delivery of Stages 1-3 of LAEP provides immediate, practical value for councils, especially where capacity and funding are tight. It also demonstrated that this model is scalable, repeatable, and well suited to regional coordination, leaving Local Authorities (LAs) better equipped to commission and deliver later LAEP stages in a more aligned, affordable and delivery-focused way.

Background

Experience across the UK shows that even technically robust LAEPs do not automatically translate into delivery. This project responded to LAs’ need for a more proportionate, affordable, and delivery-focused approach that builds confidence, capability, and shared understanding before moving into more complex technical modelling.  

Instead of producing a full technical LAEP, the project focused on creating the foundations for future delivery. This involved developing a consistent technical and non-technical evidence base, strengthening governance and stakeholder engagement, and supporting LAs to articulate clear priorities and next steps through delivery-focused forward plans. 

The project utilised the Design Council’s Double Diamond model – discover, define, develop, and deliver – and used a sub-regional model that enabled shared learning, alignment, and economies of scale while retaining flexibility to reflect local context.  

Our Role

The role of the Hub was:

• To bring the LAs together and to understand their needs and develop a project to address these. 
• To maintain regular contact with the LAs and provide feedback to CSE and Regen to adjust delivery based on needs
• To act as critical friend e.g., reviewing outputs and making suggestions
• To support the LAs in delivering actions in the forward plansTo bring the LAs together and to understand their needs and develop a project to address these. 
• To maintain regular contact with the LAs and provide feedback to CSE and Regen to adjust delivery based on needs
• To act as critical friend e.g., reviewing outputs and making suggestions
• To support the LAs in delivering actions in the forward plans

Location

Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay unitary authorities), Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. 

Deliverables

The project produced the following core deliverables: 

• 4 x Local Area Characterisations – the non-technical baseline created to ensure future energy planning and delivery activity was grounded in the realities of each area.   

• 4 x Baseline Energy Representations (BER) – the technical baseline developed to provide a robust technical understanding of the current energy system in each area.  

• Data Methodology and Gap Analysis Report – set out the methodology used to produce the BERs and identified key data gaps that would need to be addressed should further LAEP stages be completed.  

• Data repositories – provided each area with a structured accessible store of all publicly available datasets used in the BERs. 

• A Forward Plans for each of the four areas – to set out a clear set of actions to progress delivery-focused local energy planning and decarbonisation activity.  

• Workshop Output Summaries – to capture the engagement undertaken throughout the project, summarising the different engagement methods used and variations in approaches across the four areas.  

Project Summary Report – to summarise the project background and rationale, scope, approach, outputs, key observations and learnings and next steps and recommendations.  

The project produced the following core deliverables: 

• 4 x Local Area Characterisations – the non-technical baseline created to ensure future energy planning and delivery activity was grounded in the realities of each area.   

• 4 x Baseline Energy Representations (BER) – the technical baseline developed to provide a robust technical understanding of the current energy system in each area.  

• Data Methodology and Gap Analysis Report – set out the methodology used to produce the BERs and identified key data gaps that would need to be addressed should further LAEP stages be completed.  

• Data repositories – provided each area with a structured accessible store of all publicly available datasets used in the BERs. 

• A Forward Plans for each of the four areas – to set out a clear set of actions to progress delivery-focused local energy planning and decarbonisation activity.  

• Workshop Output Summaries – to capture the engagement undertaken throughout the project, summarising the different engagement methods used and variations in approaches across the four areas.  

• Project Summary Report – to summarise the project background and rationale, scope, approach, outputs, key observations and learnings and next steps and recommendations.  

Tools

Alongside the core deliverables, three tools were developed and applied throughout the project to support structured discussion, explore local context and opportunity, and inform decision-making. 

1. Walking Around the Issues (WATI) – used to explore the strengths to be built upon and barriers to be navigated to enable progress on decarbonisation and delivery in each area.  

2. Visioning – designed to support open and informed discussions about the role each LA wishes to play in different aspects of decarbonisation in their areas.  

3. The Capability Assessment Star – used to assess LA readiness to deliver on local energy interventions based on the factors identified through the project. 

Four regional thematic webinars were delivered covering funding, modelling, LAEP approaches and Regional Energy Strategic Plan (RESP) to support local prioritisation activities. Two of the webinars are available to watch now: 

• What are we modelling and why?

• Where are we at with the RESP?

Lessons learnt

Lessons learnt captured as part of the project: 

• Non-technical insight is essential to effective early-stage local energy planning. 

• Tools add most value as facilitation mechanisms, not standalone outputs.  

• Clear framing of purpose and scope improves engagement quality.  

• Sustaining engagement momentum requires alignment with local authority capacity.  

• Early focus on governance, capability and sequencing strengthens delivery outcomes.  

More details about the lessons learnt and a ‘Key Observations and Learning’ section can both be found in the Project Summary Final Report.  

Benefits

Provided a coherent and consistent evidence-based foundation to understand the energy systems and progress further LAE planning and net zero delivery in each area.  

• Engaged over two hundred stakeholders across the four areas in local area energy planning, potentially helping to build longer-term buy-in, reduce obstacles and accelerate delivery.  

• Encouraged collaboration, alignment, and shared learning across the region with the cross-area working proving effective, and in person workshops helping to deepen connections and support shared learning. 

• Developed shareable practical tools to support other local authorities to conduct structured discussion, explore local context and opportunity, and inform decision-making.   

• Engaged with the Distribution System Operators (DSO) and supported in building understanding of the emerging Regional Energy Strategic Planning (RESP) process and its significance.  

• Highlighted areas where the Hub could support progress by facilitating regional solutions, be that through similar projects or by developing specific capabilities or services to meet needs.  

Demonstrated Stages 1–3 of the LAEP methodology are well within the capability of LAs to undertake themselves, provided they have access to appropriate internal resource and buy-in, tools, data, and light-touch external facilitation.  TEXT

Recommendations and next steps

To build on the momentum from this project, recommendations were made to inform next step in across the region (1) and beyond (2-4): 

1. Progress opportunities for collective action in the region. Focus areas include – upskilling councils and strengthening capability, increasing renewable energy development, retrofit and building decarbonisation, RESP and network engagement and data use and management.  

2. Prioritise delivery of LAEP Stages 1-3 – to support stronger and more consistent foundations for LAEP nationally, there is a clear role for national actors to provide targeted resource and funding to enable local authorities to undertake Stages 1–3, even where progression to full technical modelling is not yet feasible. 

3. Seek opportunities for sub-regional approaches – working across multiple local authorities enabled shared learning, peer support, and economies of scale, while also supporting greater consistency in approach and outputs. 

4. Adopt a “do with, not for” approach – the value of early-stage LAEP lies not only in the outputs produced, but in the process of delivery itself. LAE planning is most effective when treated as a learning journey that builds the confidence, skills, and capability of local authority officers and partners, rather than as a technical product delivered on their behalf.  

The LA area leads and Hub project managers continue to meet after project closure to discuss progress and ongoing activities. Watch this space for more information about how local area energy planning is being continued in these areas!  

For more information about the project or to learn more about how it could benefit your local authority area, please reach out to us at swnetzerohub@westofengland-ca.gov.uk/ 

Key Facts