Announcing the winners of the APSE Energy Awards 2025

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the councils who submitted an entry for this year’s inaugural APSE Energy Awards, sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. It is amazing to see the dedication and creativity shown by local authorities in the pursuit of net zero. We appreciate all of your hard work and congratulations to all of the APSE Energy Award winners and finalists!

Supporting Innovation 

Winner: Walsall Council

Walsall Council is working with Achieve Your Goals CIC and Hillary Primary School, to act as a ‘catalyst’ in process of reaching out to parents/carers (householders). Via engagement with local school children, they reach hard-to-reach households and find hard-to-treat homes. They have delivered bespoke energy and renewable energy education package to 200 children leading to £1.5m of grant-funded retrofits, with £78,500 energy savings. They are working with teachers and Nash Dom CIC to promote and provide translation services

Accessing and Managing Finance 

Winner: Bedford Borough Council 

Bedford Green Energy Park delivers low carbon, clean energy generation technologies on a closed restored landfill site, as a model to provide an education resource, training and encourage others to reduce carbon emissions, adopt innovative technologies, and improve air quality. The project represents the significant amount of work by the project team in developing and securing SEMELP funding for sustainable investment opportunity for the Council, whilst also satisfying the aspirational pledge by the Council to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Working in Collaboration

Winner: North Yorkshire Council and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

North Yorkshire Council and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (now the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority) worked collaboratively with community representatives to both develop and deliver the £2.2million Shared Prosperity Fund Decarbonisation Theme, delivered between January 2023 and March 2025.

You can view the full list of finalists and their submissions here