The Green Finance Fund

The London Underground has 272 passenger stations across Greater London, with the oldest dating back 160 years. The Tube network’s size and age mean continued investment is necessary to meet the needs of an ever-growing city and TfL’s Net Zero carbon targets. 

TfL received £8.8m in finance from the GFF to upgrade the fluorescent lighting of 140 small and medium-sized stations to LED.  

This project is expected to reduce TfL’s greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 465 tCO2e per year. This would represent a 45 per cent reduction in energy usage (49,175 kWh per year).

The Lancaster West Estate, located in North Kensington, London, is undergoing a comprehensive, resident-led refurbishment aimed at transforming the estate into a sustainable and comfortable urban living environment.  

This initiative was launched in response to the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which profoundly impacted the local community. The refurbishment involves 795 homes and is estimated to cost £244m. 

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have received £58m for the decarbonisation measures on the estate. It is expected to generate an 87 per cent reduction in energy consumption, with estimated emissions savings of 1,074tCO2e per annum. Some of the measures include:  

• lighting upgrades 

• external wall insulation, 

• upgrading windows and doors. 

The project will improve the current average EPC rating of D to between B and C.  

Altogether, the works will reduce bills for residents and significantly improve living conditions by retaining more heat in winter and lower risk of overheating in summer.

The London Museum is relocating to Smithfield Market. It needs to expand to growing visitor numbers. As well as house the world’s most significant urban history collection, with over seven million items.  

Rather than demolishing the existing building at the new location, the museum will preserve and upgrade the historic building. The GFF has agreed a £25m loan to the museum to support with the decarbonisation and retrofit elements of the move to the new site.  

Some of the interventions supported by the GFF include:  

• passive and natural ventilation strategy 
• development of the museum as a Smart Building to enable the highest possible building performance 
• daylight control through optimisation of glazing 
• selection of modern efficient Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment utilising heat recovery 
• renewable energy generation onsite via the photovoltaic array 

The energy efficiency and renewable energy interventions are expected to generate carbon emissions savings of 1,770.68 tCO2e reduced per annum over the project lifetime of the interventions.

The London Stadium Solar Membrane Project was the first to receive finance from the GFF. The £4.35m project will install 6,500 square metres of solar membrane panels on the stadium’s roof, with expected saving of more than 200 tonnes of carbon emissions a year and the generation of enough power for all the venue’s major events.

The project is part of a range of measures to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions at London Stadium. These include solar membranes, LED lighting, chiller and air handling improvements and kiosk energy-saving devices.