Vattenfall has announced plans to develop the largest low-carbon heat network in the UK

The Swedish energy firm Vattenfall has unveiled plans for a low-carbon heat network in London that will serve up to half a million homes, which would make the project the largest of its kind to date in the UK. To put the size of the network into context, there are currently roughly 14,000 heat networks in the UK that collectively provide heat for approximately 480,000 customers.

The first phase of the project will involve construction of heat network infrastructure for 10,500 homes in Bexley and is expected to begin in early 2022. While the first 10,500 homes will receive heat from Cory’s Riverside Resource Recovery facility in Belvedere, the heat source for the subsequent phases of the project is undetermined. Several sources are considered by Vattenfall, including electric heat pumps, energy-from-waste, and waste heat from water processing or data centres.

Read more in article by Edie

Read more in article by The Energyst

A village in Cambridgeshire is aiming to become the first to entirely switch to zero carbon heating

Swaffham Prior, a village near Newmarket in the East of England, is leading the way in eco-heating as £9 million is to be spent replacing oil tanks with a new pioneering heat network. The village, consisting of around 300 homes, is not connected to the gas grid and around 70% of homes get their heat from burning oil. The new community heat network will incorporate ground source and air source heat pumps to provide thermal energy for the entire village.

Over half of the homes in Swaffham Prior have already announced their intention to join the heat network, with the first homes planned to be connected in March 2022. The project is partly funded (£3.2 million) by the Heat Networks Investment Project, and is hoped to serve as as a best practice blueprint for other communities in the UK wishing to transition to zero carbon heating.

Read more on the Cambridgeshire Council website

Read more in article by ITV

Glasgow announces £30 billion ‘Greenprint for Investment’ to achieve net zero by 2030

A newly launched £30 billion portfolio of investment projects has been unveiled by Glasgow City Council, intended to boost the city’s target of achieving net zero by 2030. The Greenprint features 10 projects, which all relate to four of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Decent Work and Economic Growth; Sustainable Cities and Communities; Climate Action; and Partnerships for the Goals.

Some of the projects featured include:

• Glasgow City Region Home Energy Retrofit Programme, aiming to upgrade the insulation of every home in the Glasgow City region over the next ten years with £10 billion in funding. The programme will contribute to greater energy security, net zero carbon emissions, lower household energy bills and warmer homes
• Glasgow’s District Heating Network, to kick-start a wider district heating network in order to transform the city’s energy production and consumption. Two key projects will act as testbeds – in Polmadie and Gorbals Districts

Read more in article by Scottish Construction Now

Read more on the Glasgow City Council website

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