Foundational Framework & Futureproofed Forecasting

Arup, a globally respected engineering and design firm, has teamed up with Advanced Infrastructure, makers of the Local Area Energy Planner Plus software, and consultancy Global City Futures to deliver Bristol’s Mission Net Zero. This partnership, backed by Innovate UK funding, seeks to utilize LAEP+, already used in over 200 towns and across many UK distribution network operators, to generate a comprehensive baseline of regional energy usage, grid capacity, and building performance. This insight will serve as the bedrock for a net zero planning platform aimed at transforming the West of England’s energy landscape.

Baseline Brilliance & Bespoke Blueprinting

LAEP+ will map the current energy topology, evaluating residential, commercial, industrial and transport sectors. The tool integrates GIS data, smart meter usage, vehicle emissions models, and building energy performance indicators to create an accurate snapshot of carbon output and electrical demand. This bespoke blueprint ensures stakeholders understand exactly where emissions are highest and what decarbonisation actions can yield the greatest impact.

Strategic Sequencing & Scalable Solutions

Using the detailed dataset, Arup, Advanced Infrastructure, and Global City Futures will design a clear pipeline of interventions. This includes costed proposals for solar farms, heat pumps, district heating systems, smart grids, LED streetlighting, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Each project will be structured in stages, short-term, medium-term, and long-term, allowing resource allocation and policy changes to occur in sync. The timeline and staging are carefully designed to enable scalable, sequenced deployment approaching 2030.

Grid Growth & Green Generation Goals

A notable emphasis lies on modernising the West of England’s electricity grid to handle increased renewable generation and elevated demand from EVs and heat pumps. Planned upgrades include reinforcing local transformers, increasing cable capacity and installing sensors for real-time grid management. Solar arrays and battery storage will be strategically located to balance supply and demand. With LAEP+ modelling, stakeholders gain visibility into how these components interconnect and support systemic decarbonisation.

EV Electrification & Emission Evasion

The transition to electric mobility forms a central pillar. The LAEP+ platform will pinpoint high-traffic zones lacking charging infrastructure, assist in estimating grid-load increases, and align public EV station rollouts with solar or storage network expansions. This coordination will optimise spacing, avoid grid bottlenecks and incentivise public and private investment in green transport networks. By modelling demand projections, city planners can phase in up to thousands of chargers by 2030.

Residential Retrofitting & Renewable Readiness

Addressing built-environment emissions, the roadmap includes retrofitting existing homes and commercial buildings. Energy efficiency upgrades, such as cavity-wall insulation, double glazing and LED lighting, are costed and prioritized by neighbourhood. LAEP+ identifies households likely to house heat pumps or solar panels and estimates ROI. These upgrades reduce CO₂ emissions and support grid stability by lowering peak demand, especially during winter heating and summer cooling seasons.

Operational Outreach & Optimised Oversight

Global City Futures will oversee the use of LAEP+ for ongoing monitoring and collaborative decision-making. Their role ensures municipalities, utilities and developers engage with transparent dashboards, project trackers and impact visualisations. Through an interactive portal, residents and stakeholders can view contributions to emission reduction goals, fostering public support while allowing local authorities to report progress to Innovate UK and enforce accountability.

Community Commitment & Capacity Cultivation

Mission Net Zero isn’t just a technological exercise, it’s a holistic endeavour involving communities, policymakers and market actors. Councillor Martin Fodor emphasises that local professional expertise, funding flows and stakeholder networks must align functionally to overcome project barriers. Arup and partners will provide training workshops and toolkits to enable councils, housing associations and small businesses to understand, adopt and maintain net zero projects independently.

Monitoring, Maintenance & Momentum

Execution extends well beyond 2030 and LAEP+ can be used post-launch as a living monitoring tool. Grid operators will track metrics such as average grid load, solar generation capacity and EV usage. Periodic updates will reflect improved technologies, emerging financing mechanisms, and revisions to carbon accounting. Together, this ensures adaptability and durability in addressing evolving climate targets, technological advances and shifting energy markets.

4. Key Takeaways:

• LAEP+ will map energy use, building performance, grid capacity and transport demand, enabling precise decarbonisation planning

• The costed roadmap includes grid upgrades, solar farms, EV chargepoints, building retrofits, District Heat Networks and smart infrastructure

• Public-private collaboration under Innovate UK funding, coupled with community engagement and ongoing monitoring, forms a scalable model for regional net zero strategies