CC/NZ: Net zero carbon new buildings

4.8. This policy sets out an ambitious approach to address carbon emissions through the sustainable design of new buildings, reducing energy demand in the first instance through a ‘fabric first’ approach, before selecting low carbon, fossil fuel free building systems and then employing renewable technologies to offset residual emissions to zero. The policy also incorporates an approach to tackle embodied emissions in construction materials and processes by consideration of whole life carbon analysis to ensure that low impact construction methods are deployed.
4.9. In order to meet these policy objectives, for the site at North Cambourne MGH will utilise the energy hierarchy approach to first reduce the demand for heating through efficient design of the building fabric. In addition MGH will adopt measures consistent with those set out in the UK Government’s Future Homes Standard consultation , intended to provide new homes ready for the 2050 net zero carbon economy. This ‘fabric first’ approach has the added benefit of ensuring energy bills will be kept to a minimum for new occupants.
4.10. The site will not be connected to the gas grid and will instead employ all-electric building systems, providing heating, cooling (where needed) and hot water through the use of heat pump systems. These will avoid the need to retrofit or upgrade building systems in future.
4.11. Where suitably co-located, waste heat from non-domestic uses can be used to heat homes. Opportunities for heat sharing between domestic and non-domestic uses will be explored in more detail as the scheme design is progressed.
4.12. A systematic approach to renewable technology selection will be undertaken to understand the feasibility of various technologies in delivering the maximum level of renewable energy generation through onsite means, aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions without offsetting where possible. Site-wide emissions will be established for all building uses, aiming to provide net zero across the site as a whole, with buildings with surplus savings offsetting those where net zero is harder to achieve.
4.13. Offsite measures, such as carbon offsetting, will only be used as a last resort in situations where it is impractical to generate sufficient renewable energy from onsite systems.
4.14. Whole life carbon assessment will also be undertaken to establish the lifecycle performance of proposed embodied and operational energy efficiency measures, in line with current RICS best practice guidance. The whole life carbon analysis will account for the ongoing decarbonisation of the UK electricity network, with the UK Government recently announcing that it is aiming for net zero carbon electricity from 2035.