News update February 2020

Swedish company Vattenfall appointed as council's energy partner in Scotland, go-ahead for UK's first mine water district heating scheme and will rivers and parks provide our heat? Plenty of stories in February for the heating sector, see below for a summary of what has been going on.

Metropolitan awarded 40-year ESCo contract in London

Metropolitan has been awarded the 40-year ESCo contract to adopt, own and operate the district heat network and hot-water systems serving London Square Bermondsey. The former industrial site will transform into 406 new homes and 17,000 square metres of commercial space. The development will also be under the Heat Trust industry self-regulatory customer protection scheme.
Read more in article from Cambridge Network >
Read more in Metropolitan press release >

UK’s first mine water district heating scheme

In the County Durham, the development of the UK’s first mine water district heating scheme has begun. The development will include 1,500 homes, a school, medical and innovation centres. The development is in collaboration between the UK Coal Authority, Tolent Construction and Durham County Council.
Read more in the Government’s press release >
Read more in the local East Durham News >

New report encourages clearer government policy and investment models

Amey, infrastructure consultancy, released a white paper outlining the challenges for the development of UK district heating, along with recommended interventions. According to the report, key is to have clear government policy steering the direction, clear and functioning investment models, as well as empowering local and central government through functioning business and financing models.
Read more in the Facilities Management Journal >
Read more details in the Amey report >

New tool to calculate the full cost of energy used by buildings

The Whole Life Cost of Energy (WLCoE) calculator is released by the government to help building owners and operators to understand the full financial cost of the energy their buildings use. The calculator is still in BETA form, but open for use.
Read more and try the calculator on the government website >

Orkney’s ReFLEX to integrate systems for electricity, transport and heat

ReFLEX Orkney, the smart energy project aiming to integrate electricity, transport and heat networks in the Orkney Archipelago near Scotland has been approved by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and can now move from the feasibility stage to demonstration. The project of £28.5 million is funded by the UKRI and led by the European Marine Energy Centre, along with consortium partners Aquatera, Solo Energy, Community Energy Scotland, Heriot-Watt University, Orkney Islands Council, and Doosan Babcock.
Read more in Power-Technology >

New Scottish budget include funding for energy efficiency and heating

Scottish Government are introducing a new £50 million Heat Networks Early Adopters Challenge Fund for local authorities who are ready to bring forward investment-ready heat networks. There has also been a commitment to introduce a tax rate relief for district heating projects, of how much is yet not confirmed.
Read more in the Scotland budget >
Read more in Edie >

£40 million awarded to 7 projects in the UK

Since the partnership began between the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management, we now see the first projects to receive gap funding for their heat network schemes. More than £30 million has been awarded to five local authority projects and a further £10 million awarded to two private sector projects in South East London and Liverpool.
Read more in previous SHC article >
Read more in the TP Heat Networks Investment Management’s press release >

Glasgow announces net zero roadmap

The city expects to spend millions on enabling EV adoption, installing heat pumps and modernising its network. The city expects to equip 244,000 homes with heat pumps to a total value of £1.4 billion – and together with many other planned changes, the city is aiming to become the UK’s first net zero city.
Read more in Energy Live News >

Using the River Medway to heat Kent

Kent County Council is working on a heat network for Maidstone as an important part of its plans for carbon reduction and tackling climate change. The first phase will look at connecting the County Hall, and later have the potential to connect to the town centre. The core part of the scheme looks to be completed by 2022, with heat being sourced from water source heat pumps in the River Medway.
Read more on Kent County Council’s website >

Swedish company Vattenfall appointed as council’s energy partner in Scotland

We are happy to see that the Swedish company Vattenfall will, in a first phase, provide a £20 million low-carbon district heating system for the Scottish town Shawfair in Midlothian. Heat will come from the local energy-from-waste and recycling plant. The EfW is fuelled by residual waste collected by the local councils of Midlothian, Edinburgh and East Lothian. Vattenfall and Midlothian Council are looking to set up a 50/50 JV energy services company, which will, in addition to heat, provide solar PV, EV charging and electricity works. Parts are being funded by the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transformation Project and European Regional Development Project.
Read more in Vattenfall’s press release >
Read more from local Midlothian Advertiser >

Dundee City Council hoping to lead the way to carbon neutrality

The Dundee City Council has written to the Scottish Government, asking for funding of a city-wide district heating scheme. Council leader John Alexander said: “It’s vital that we match our words with resource and that’s what we plan to do. I hope to bring forward further investment as we progress and we will also be seeking support from government and its agencies to deliver projects which significantly reduce carbon output across Dundee.”
Read more in The Courier >
Read more about Dundee’s district heating strategy >

“Fifth generation” energy network?

When completed, the new Green Smart Community Integrated Energy System (GreenSCIES) will deliver low carbon heat, mobility and power to 33,000 residents and 70 businesses in the London Borough of Islington. GreenSCIES is a collaboration launched by the project partner London South Bank University, Islington Council and Transport for London.
Read more in PBC Today >

District heating to heat Scottish castles

Scotland aims to protect its castles and will ban the use of gas boilers in the heritage buildings by 2032. District heating is a potential technology to be explored as replacement.
Read more in BBC >

London Borough of Greenwich lays out potential costs of carbon neutrality

Greenwich Council believes that up to £1.6 billion is needed to achieve its net zero targets. This would include £200 million for district heating projects and a potential £500 million for phasing out gas boilers and replace with heat pumps.
Read more in Inside Housing >

Ground source heat pump system for retirement development in Cheltenham

Local efforts make a difference. In Cheltenham, 65 new retirement apartments will be enjoying their heat coming from a ground source heat pump system.
Read more in Edie >

Scottish parks could heat homes

Research suggests that 15% of Scotland’s homes heating can come from its parks using ground source heat pumps. The Scottish government has a target to generate 11% of non-electrical heat from low carbon sources by 2020, but are currently only at around 6%. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife, North Lanarkshire and Aberdeen are the five local authorities with the largest total areas of green space and which offer the greatest potential to utilise their green spaces for low carbon energy services, in particular for heat generation.
Read more in BBC >
Read more in Live Energy News >

Dublin heating, and the story of data centres

Ireland is looking to decarbonise its heat, and giant Amazon is supporting with heat and land. By taking waste heat from Amazon data centre, the Tallaght District Heating Scheme (TDHS) can provide lower cost heating.
Read more in the Echo >
Read more in the Dublin Inquirer >

Swedish company Sweco in exciting two-year project with Peterborough City Council

Plans for the design of the largest smart city-wide energy system in the UK have been unveiled. The £2m scheme will cut energy bills and provide green heat, electricity and transport for residents. Led by Peterborough City Council, the two-year project has been granted funding to begin the design of a local, smart energy system. The partnership includes: SSE Enterprise, Element Energy, Cranfield University, Smarter Grid Solutions and Sweco UK.
Read more on Peterborough City Council’s website >

 

To stay updated on news for sustainable heating and cooling, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our Newsletter.


Sweden is at the forefront of decentralised heat networks technology. Our aim for “Sustainable Heating & Cooling by Sweden” is to facilitate knowledge sharing between British and Swedish stakeholders and develop and encourage environmental and economic best practice.

To find out how we can help you and your organisation, please contact our London-based “SHC” team. We can introduce you to leading consultants, suppliers of technology and services who will be pleased to share know-how of the development of heat network solutions.

Get our newsletter