Scottish university launches initiative to recover waste heat from data centre • New Welsh project to supply carbon negative energy • New entrant to the UK's district heating market • Read more about the developments in sustainable heating and cooling in this month's news update from the UK
In a recent initiative to accelerate the green transition while reducing running costs, the University of Edinburgh seeks to replace its current natural gas-based heating systems with a more sustainable solution. The initiative is designed to leverage waste heat from a data centre on campus, using a heat pump, to supply heating and hot water to the surrounding campus buildings.
The strong green ambitions have drawn the attention of the the Scottish Government towards the project, which has now awarded £2 million towards the scheme. Approximately £400,000 of the received grant will be used for the heat network infrastructure and data centre conversion, and the remainder for additional measures like campus insulation.
The operations of the data centre currently generate 200 KW of heat, a number which is set to double within a few months as the facility is upgraded, which poses a valuable source of sustainable heat for the campus.
The vision of the initiative extends beyond the University campus though, with plans to extend the network to other institutions and facilities across Edinburgh, including schools and hospitals. The provided public funding is part of a package including several projects across Scotland receiving a total of £20 million to support decarbonisation across Scotland.
Read more in article from the Herald
In a groundbreaking move towards sustainable energy, Parc Adfer in Deeside is poised to become the largest producer of carbon-negative power in the UK. Operated by Enfinium, the facility will utilise carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to sequester and store 235.000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, effectively removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than it emits.
The project is expected to create over 1.000 green jobs and could receive support from the UK Government’s Track-1 carbon capture program. Already diverting 232.000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste away from landfills, Parc Adfer’s transition to carbon-negative power generation marks a significant step towards achieving a net-zero carbon economy in Wales.
Through investments in CCS technology, the goal is to achieve 100% zero-carbon power output by 2035. Planning and consenting processes are slated to commence later this year, with an update on the progress of projects within the Track-1 HyNet Expansion program expected from Downing Street in the summer.
Read more in article from Environment Journal
Backed by UK and international investors, Bring Energy debuts as the UK’s largest operator of city-scale heating and cooling networks. It is a strategic spin-out from incumbent Equans Energy, with substantial backing from leading investors and great ambitions for the future.
With a portfolio that includes prominent locations like the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, ExCel Centre, Battersea Power Station, and extensive city-center networks in Birmingham, Coventry, Edinburgh, Leicester, Newcastle, and Southampton, Bring Energy is poised to redefine the landscape of urban energy across the UK. The company has a total capacity of 432MW of heating, 117MW of cooling, and 67MW of electricity generation.
The company’s launch comes in the wake of the November 2023 Energy Security Bill, which cleared the path for the expansion of heat networks nationwide. The bill empowers the government to implement heat network zoning in England and mandate heat networks as the primary heat supply option for new and existing buildings in designated zones.
As its first development project, Bring Energy aims to install a water source heat pump at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London to accelerate the provision of green heat in the East London Neighbourhood.
Read more in article from Sustainable Times
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