Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), together with local stakeholders, is determined to tackle climate change head-on.

To this end the LEP has published The Decarbonising Dorset report mapping out options for Dorset to become net zero by 2050.

Cecilia Bufton, Dorset LEP chairman, said: “This document includes exciting opportunities to decarbonise Dorset and provide significant economic and social benefit for the county at the same time – low-carbon energy options ready for investment and immediate success.

“We have shown how Dorset can do it, now we must work with local players to turn opportunities into action.”

Dorset’s demand for electricity is expected to more than double by 2050. To meet this demand, the Committee on Climate Change, the UK’s independent adviser on tackling climate change, has estimated that renewable energy generation capacity needs to quadruple.

According to this report from Dorset LEP, renewable energy solutions suitable for Dorset include solar, wind, hydrogen, bioenergy and nuclear. Solar presents a major opportunity for the county thanks to large areas of lower grade agricultural land. Meanwhile, hydrogen energy generation could benefit from storage within Dorset’s salt caverns, and marine-sourced heat pump projects can aid decarbonising heating.

As well as identifying clean energy opportunities, this report also highlights how improving the energy efficiency of buildings, moving to a low-carbon transport system, and exploring flexible energy network solutions, will all be key to achieving net zero. Electric vehicles, for example, make up just 0.3 per cent of total cars registered in Dorset – developing infrastructure across the county to support these initiatives will be a crucial step forward.

Read the document online at www.dorsetlep.co.uk/dorset-net-zero.