A STUDY has looked at how green Wrexham and Flintshire are compared to the rest of the UK.

The UK Government's net zero strategy, outlining plans to meet legal targets to end its contribution to climate change by 2050, has been published ahead of crucial UN Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow.

Among the key policies are an expansion of the electric vehicle network and new measures to encourage renewable heating in homes.

But what progress is being made on green initiatives in Flintshire and Wrexham to date?

Electric vehicle charging:

The Government's net zero strategy included an announcement of £620 million for electric vehicle grants to support the rollout of charging infrastructure nationally.

Figures show Wrexham is behind many other parts of Great Britain with the pace of its EV charging point rollout.

Statistics from the Department for Transport show there were 35 public charging points in the area at the start of October – up from 25 a year before.

But at a rate of 26 per 100,000 people, this is well below the UK average, of 39.

Since October 2019 – when figures began at local authority level – the number of devices in Wrexham has risen by 22.

Flintshire is also behind the UK-wide rate when it comes to EV charging points.

There were 34 public charging points in the area at the start of October – up from 18 a year before. But at a rate of 22 per 100,000 people, this, too, is well below the UK average, of 39.

Since October 2019 – the number of devices in Flintshire has risen by 21.

Across the UK, an additional 10,800 devices were made available over the same period, taking the total number to 25,900 by October.

Renewable heating:

Households will also be able to benefit from £5,000 government grants to install low-carbon heating systems as part of plans to cut emissions from homes.

The £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme – which opens from April next year – will help homeowners to swap their gas boiler for a more efficient air source heat pump.

It will launch at the same time as a similar programme, the Renewable Heat Incentive, closes to new applicants.

People who join the domestic version of the RHI receive quarterly payments for the amount of clean, green renewable heat it is estimated their system produces.

Data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shows 94,000 renewable heating systems had been installed across Great Britain through RHI by the end of September – 15 per cent more than September 2020.

Of these, 261 have been installed in Wrexham, helping to pay for 15,702 megawatts per hour of energy.

That is an increase of 17 per cent on the 224 systems installed by September last year, meaning Wrexham is moving at a faster pace than the national average.

An extension to the Energy Company Obligation scheme, which aims to reduce carbon emissions and help people at risk of fuel poverty by making energy firms install heat-saving measures, has also been announced.

BEIS data shows 2.3 million homes across Great Britain had been fitted with ECO measures by the end of June – with 3,847 of these in Wrexham.

In Flintshire, 572 renewable energy systems have been installed, helping to pay for 28,117 megawatts per hour of energy.

That is an increase of 58 per cent on the 362 systems installed by September last year, meaning Flintshire is moving at a faster pace than the national average.

In terms of the installation heat-saving measures, 6,956 of these are in Flintshire.