Decision

Recommendations approved.

Reasons for recommendations:

1. The grant funding will enable the business to further develop and support their sustainable practices and carbon reduction through the production of cleaner cheaper energy and use of more energy efficient machinery. It will assist with the delivery of the following outcomes:

·         Reduction in fossil fuel use

·         Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

·         Production of cheaper, green energy

1. The proposals support the Council’s Net Zero Policy.

Other options considered and rejected:

1. Other options considered include:

a)      Not awarding the funding. The option of not granting this application will have long-term impacts. Without the grant funding, the business would be unable to afford the purchase and installation of the solar panel system upgrades, invertors and storage batteries. This would mean continued inefficiencies, higher energy costs, and further reduce the effectiveness of their current solar panels, limiting the environmental and financial benefits they can provide.

b)     Awarding a lesser amount of funding. Similar to above, only awarding part of the funding would mean the business couldn’t fully implement the project and would not receive all of the benefits that the full project would bring.