The next 350 homes on the old Longbridge car plant site near Birmingham will be all-electric and largely power themselves.
St Modwen, the developer owned by Blackstone, the world’s biggest private equity firm, got planning approval for the houses earlier this year. Work is set to begin this autumn.
It has now committed to making all of them gas-free, running off electricity only. Each house will be powered through a smart grid and generate its own electricity wherever possible through technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps. Any spare electricity will be stored in large batteries.
The innovation is believed to be the first to be used by a major developer as St Modwen continues to pioneer sustainable new ways to build and power homes. The smart grid design is being developed alongside SNRG, a specialist in next generation energy infrastructure.
Sarwjit Sambhi, chief executive at St Modwen, said: “Every organisation needs to be taking steps to deliver more sustainable products and services, but at St Modwen we have taken leaps by introducing carbon-negative homes and smart-grid powered developments. We are proving that greener homes can be delivered at commercial scale, something which is not just the right thing for the environment but also allows us to meet the demand of our customers.”
Caroline Hill, managing director, Europe and head of real estate ESG at Blackstone, added: “This initiative demonstrates the role innovation can play in creating the greener, more sustainable homes we need for the future. Supporting our portfolio companies to be innovative is at the heart of what we do, and we hope it will lead to similar pioneering practices being adopted at scale and across different sectors.”
“These new homes will be wonderful places to live, boost energy efficiency and affordability and help us to tackle the climate emergency, said Andy Street, mayor of West Midlands Combined Authority. “Longbridge is a brilliant example that points the way to a more sustainable future for the West Midlands – fast becoming a fantastic hub from which to live, work and play as well as creating high-quality job opportunities for our local residents along the way.”
St Modwen is developing a total of 3,000 homes at Longbridge, some 1,450 of which have already been delivered.
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