Thameswey Energy is the energy trading name of the Thameswey group of companies. Thameswey was established in 1999 by Woking Borough Council. As an energy and enviornmental services company, Thameswey provide effective solutions across both public and private sectors to meet the ambitious carbon reduction targets laid out in the Council’s Climate Change Strategy.

Company Structure

Thameswey is an Energy and Environmental Services Company, wholly owned by Woking Borough Council, which enters into public/private joint ventures to both mitigate and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.

The Thameswey Group focuses on the promotion and development of projects that increase the use of sustainable energy, tackle fuel poverty, reduce water waste and encourage green transport; both inside and outside the Borough of Woking.

Since it was formed in 1999, Thameswey has been internationally recognised as a leader in the financing and management of combined heat and power centres which provide low carbon electricity and heat to local communities.

Thameswey is the parent company to a number of subsidiary companies which each assist to deliver the key components of the Thameswey business strategy:

1. Thameswey Energy

A core service provided by Thameswey involves the design, build and operation of local energy centres which provide low carbon energy to the communities in which they serve. Thameswey Energy is an internationally recognised example of a publically owned Energy Services Company (ESCo) that was set up to deliver locally generated low carbon energy to its customers across the community.

The energy centres built by Thameswey Energy generate both heat and electricity using very efficient combined heat and power (CHP) engines, which is then supplied using privately owned electricity and heat distribution networks. Where possible Thameswey Energy also utilise renewable energy forms of generation such as photovolatics.

Established in July 1999, Thameswey Energy built its first combined heat and power energy centre in March 2001 to supply both electricity and heat to Woking Borough Council’s civic offices and surrounding businesses within Woking’s town centre.

Thameswey Energy also operate energy centres in Milton Keynes. Low carbon electricity and heat is supplied to approximately 1,000 residential dwellings, a Sainsbury superstore and a number of retail outlets including restaurants such as Café Rouge and Gourmet Burger Kitchen along with a flagship office development.

Establishing a new ESCo venture requires several key considerations. Robust financial planning is required in conjunction with sound engineering expertise to ensure that the creation of the scheme is delivered on time and to budget.

Once established, Thameswey Energy can offer a fully integrated service to manage and serve the new domestic and business customers who receive energy from the energy centre. Information on each of these steps can be found using the links to the right.

Thameswey Energy in Woking:

Thameswey built its first combined heat and power energy centre in March 2001 to supply both electricity and heat to its civic offices and surrounding businesses within Woking’s town centre.

The Woking town energy centre enabled the council to form what is known as an Energy Services Company (ESCo). An ESCo is a company that is formed to provide localised energy services within the community. The ESCo is a joint venture company, 90% owned by Thameswey and 10% owned by Xergi Limited, a Danish company involved in the building and operation of the energy centres.

Other examples of sustainable energy projects delivered by Thameswey Energy include a fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) project in Woking’s Pools in the Park, and the combined CHP and photovoltaic system at Brockhill Residential Home in Goldsworth Park.

Thameswey Energy in Milton Keynes:

Thameswey Energy is currently expanding into Milton Keynes with a number of new developments connecting to our first energy centre based in Central Milton Keynes.
Under an agreement with The Homes and Community Agency, Thameswey Energy have been contracted to deliver electricity and heat to new developments within the city centre.

Thameswey Energy now supply electricity and heat to over 800 residential and 30 retail units within The Hub and Vizion developments. With work now well underway to connect The Pinnacle, Milton Keynes largest office development for over 25 years.

2. Woking Borough Homes

In April 2005 the Council established a housing company, Woking Borough Homes, for the delivery of houses to let at affordable rents. Woking Borough Homes is 100% owned by Thameswey Ltd. The company can both acquire and construct properties with a view to optimising the number of affordable homes. Projects run by the company are funded through a combination of shared capital, loan and grant.

Woking Borough Homes was set up to benefit to Woking residents by facilitating the delivery of affordable rented properties (with future potential for shared equity schemes). Its scope compliments the existing programme of delivery which the Council has with its Housing Association partners, maximising the availability of social housing in the Borough.

Properties which are owned by Woking Borough Homes are let to those on a waiting list through the Council’s Choice Based Lettings system, Hometrak. Tenancies are let on Assured agreements and tenants do not acquire the Right To Buy so the company stock will be preserved for social housing. The rental administration, renovation and maintenance of all the properties is managed by Woking Borough Council on behalf of the company.

Work is currently underway on a scheme at Brookwood Farm to build 10 affordable homes. The site will comprise 6 three bedroomed houses and 4 two bedroomed houses. The properties will achieve a Sustainability Code Level 5. As well as additional insulation, the development will have photovoltaics, and a system of rain water harvesting.

3. ECSC

The Energy Centre for Sustainable Communities (ecsc) Ltd is a dynamic sustainable energy consultancy that became part of the Thameswey group in 2007.

Established in 1982 and is based in Woking, ecsc has highly skilled and experienced staff offering technical and strategic consultancy services to both public and private sector clients.

Having built a reputation for managing a diverse range of successful energy-related projects, ecsc now focuses on three core areas:

In response to the growing requirement for new developments to meet demanding energy standards, ecsc offers a range of services for planners including C-Plan, a revolutionary collaborative tool that enables planners to assess the performance of a proposed development and communicate efficiently with developers. ecsc is working with a number of local authorities to promote and further develop C-Plan. Other planning services including energy masterplanning and preparation of evidence bases in support of renewable energy and low carbon policies.

ecsc also offers comprehensive consultancy support for local authorities, developers and architects. These services range from high-level strategic support for local authorities implementing a sustainable energy or climate change strategy to generation of energy statements for single developments.

Finally, ecsc is also responsible to servicing the requirements of the Thameswey Group. Specifically this involves the management of the customer services for Thameswey Energy Ltd as well as the engineering for current and proposed Thameswey developments.

Thameswey Energy Governance

The Thameswey board is responsible for the strategic direction of the group of companies and reports directly into the Executive Committee of Woking Borough Council. The current Thameswey board members are;

Executive Directors
Ray Morgan, Chief Executive Officer, Woking Borough Council
John Thorp, Managing Director
Douglas Spinks, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Woking Borough Council
Mark Rolt, Director, Woking Borough Council

Non-Executive Directors
Barry Maunders, Chairman, Independent

Background of the Thameswey Board
Ray Morgan (OBE) started his career in local government in 1973. He joined Woking Borough Council as Director of Financial Services in April 1989 and was appointed as Executive Director in May 2000, being promoted to Chief Executive Officer in April 2006.

John Thorp is the Director of Thameswey and also MD of ECSC. John has over 30 years experience of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, in industry and the government sector. John has an MBA from Cranfield University, is a Chartered Biologist, a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

Contact

Telephone: 0845 601 5515

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.thamesweyenergy.co.uk

FREEPOST RTEG-HRXB-XEXC
2nd Floor Gloucester Chambers
Jubilee Square
Woking, Surrey
GU21 6GA