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Tag Archives: Community Heating
GLA district energy research commissioned
November 2013: The GLA have commissioned research into how district heating systems can work successfully in new developments as energy efficiency requirements continue to increase. The approval document sets out that:
“With the improving standards for insulation and air tightness to retain heat within developments, it is important that communal heating systems within buildings are designed so that they do not contribute towards buildings overheating.
“It is therefore proposed to procure consultants to carry out a study into how communal heating systems, specifically in residential schemes, implemented as a result of policy can be designed to avoid overheating.”
This issue of district heating and overheating was briefly touched upon in research undertaken by AECOM for the Department of Communities in 2012.
Developing Heat Networks in London
November 2013: At the BRE’s recent event Developing heat networks in the UK three presentations were delivered on developments in London – links to which follow below:
Bunhill Heat and Power – Charlotte Large, Decentralised Energy Programme Manager, Islington Council
Identifying secondary heat sources for future sustainable heat networks – Peter North, Senior Manager – Programme Delivery (Sustainable Energy), GLA
The third presentation by Ian Smith, Head of Sustainable Services, Southwark Council, on London’s first energy from waste district heating network, can be found here.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Islington, SELCHP, Southwark, Waste
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GLA responds to Heat Enquiry
November 2013: The House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee is currently undertaking an enquiry into Heat. The terms of reference to the enquiry states that “so far much of government’s energy policy focus has been on low-carbon electricity generation (in particular, the Energy Bill, which aims to reform the electricity market). Yet heat is responsible for 46% of UK energy use, approximately a third of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and is a major cost in both the domestic and non-domestic sectors.”
The Greater London Authority (GLA) has submitted written evidence to the Committee outlining the significant decentralised energy programme underway in the capital. The evidence sets out a number of interesting points related to the wider scale deployment of heat networks as well as recommendations to Government in terms of its policies to promote decentralised generation. These include:
- The Mayor welcomes the Committee’s scrutiny of this often over-looked area of energy policy
- There are “inconsistencies in government’s energy policy and regulatory regime that are preventing heat generation and distribution in cities” which “…distort the market for heat by providing external financial support for some technologies, while largely ignoring heat networks“.
- Heat network deployment at the scale envisaged for London represents a significant infrastructural challenge, requiring approximately 3,600km of heat networks to be constructed by 2030 and equates to an investment opportunity of approximately £6bn
- Whilst district heating schemes can qualify for funding under ECO, the current two year target as well as uncertainty regarding longer-term target discourage energy suppliers from investing in these schemes. Government should consider setting longer term targets for the next phases of ECO, or provide guidance on how investment in district heating schemes can contribute to current or future targets
- We estimate that London housing development will generate at the very least £25m per annum under the proposed Allowable Solutions regime – by far the greatest amount of any region. Yet, because measures are likely to be cheaper outside London, London businesses and households will again be subsidising other regions and receiving less investment into low carbon, heating bill reducing measures. In addition, as Allowable Solutions investment is likely to lever ECO investment, there is a risk that the proposed scheme will exacerbate the imbalance in ECO investment away from London.
The Committee’s evidence gathering process continues in November – more of which can be found here.
London’s secondary heat resource
October 2013: The GLA commissioned a detailed report earlier this year exploring opportunities in London to use high volumes of typically lower-temperature waste heat. Further details on this study – London’s Zero Carbon Energy Resource – can be downloaded here. And a recent presentation made at BRE’s ‘Developing heat networks in the UK ‘ also provides a good summary of some of the findings.
Heat is generated in London’s tube network as a result of trains braking, underground lighting and from passengers. This heat is rejected through ventilated shafts at strategic positions along the network at temperatures ranging typically from 12-29 degrees.
Most secondary heat sources need upgrading to higher temperatures to be useable in heat networks – this requires heat pumps. The minimum suitable temperatures for district heating is 55 degrees. Download the presentation ‘Secondary Heat – London’s Zero Carbon Energy Resource‘ here.
London’s ‘first EfW DH network’
October 2013: A presentation made at BRE’s recent ‘Developing heat networks in the UK ‘ provides a little background – and a few images – behind the new Southwark district energy network taking waste heat from the SELCHP energy from waste (EfW) plant and directing to five nearby housing estates -presentation here (and directly here). Further information on the following post here.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, SELCHP, Southwark
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Elephant & Castle plans to be ‘Climate Positive’
October 2013: London SE1 community website recently reported that “Lend Lease’s Elephant & Castle programme has been formally recognised by C40 Cities Climate Leadership to become the third project of 18 globally to reach ‘participant’ status.
The ‘climate positive participant’ rating is conferred by sustainability experts acting on behalf of C40’s Climate Positive Development Programme in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative.
To achieve this status, Elephant & Castle developers have submitted a roadmap which demonstrates that the scheme is set to be climate positive by 2020.”
Further information on the Elephant and Castle regeneration website states construction started last month on “the first 500 new homes …[which] will be some of the most sustainable, energy efficient and occupier-friendly places to live in Britain.” Amongst the ‘green’ initiatives to be incorporated in to what is one of the largest regeneration sites in Europe will be an ” on-site combined heat and energy centre [which] will not only provide heat and power to the homes and shops, it will also act as an interactive community and educational centre for the public.”
Some further background to this scheme and its carbon-reduction plans can be read in an earlier post here.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Planning, Southwark
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Shoreditch Heat Network Nominated for Green Award
September 2013: Hackney Homes has been nominated for an Inside Housing Green Performance Award for its recent refurbishment of the Shoreditch Heat Network. Further details on this scheme are provided on the following Vital Energi case study which describes how the company went about “replacing their ageing, inefficient and expensive gas and oil fired boilers with the London Borough of Hackney’s first council-owned Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant and heat network“. Further details are also in the following article in the Hackney Post.
Hackney Homes set out that the network installed is “More energy efficient than traditional methods of generation, the combined heat and power engine burns natural gas to generate electricity and uses the heat generated to supply heating and hot water.
Residents will receive individual heat metering prepayment cards, giving them the freedom to manage and budget for their own heating; reducing the financial burden on households whose energy consumption is low.”
New VNEB District Heating Feasibility Study released
September 2013: Building on the November 2012 Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea (VNEB) Energy Masterplan (7.8MB) (also see a previous post here on the earlier Opportunity Area Planning Framework for VNEB), a more detailed District Heating Feasibility Study has now been prepared for Wandsworth borough council and has been published online on the London Heat Map website.
The Nov 2012 study set out that the “Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area (VNEB OA) includes some of the highest density, large-scale development anywhere in London. As such, it offers huge potential for the development of a coherent, low carbon energy supply system.”
Key recommendations at the time included:
- To implement kick-start networks based around early loads in three locations, with routes identified as i. Lambeth ii. Central iii Battersea
- To continue dialogue with the new US Embassy development to show that a district energy network could be developed with benefits for the area and the Embassy.
- To open discussions to reinstate the hydraulic link to the Pimlico District Heating Undertaking Energy Centre – this is referring to a tunnel under the Thames which originally supplied waste heat from Battersea Power Station to the Pimlico District Heating system on the north side of the river (see more on this here and here).
Building on this the new 2013 District Heating Feasibility Study seeks to demonstrate the “commercial case both for individual developers and a centralised operator of a district heating network” examining opportunities for two potential heat network options “the developers’ non-networked approach (as expressed in individual site energy strategy documents)… Heat prices are then set to offer a fixed level of whole life cost benefit to developers connecting to the system. Second, the economic performance of heat delivery for the central scheme operator is demonstrated based on the heat prices identified from the developer perspective.”
Phasing of the build-out of the networks is considered alongwith an investment analysis of the different network options. Key to the recommendations sets out on page of the report is identifying a “project champion’ within the delivery vehicle to provide impetus and encouragement to the private sector to participate in the scheme”.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, Library, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Lambeth, Wandsworth
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Southwark Heat Network to go ‘live’ in next few months
September 2013: Detailed interview in Inside Housing on the new SELCHP district heating project. “Southwark Council is one of the few landlords with ‘pipes in the ground’ for a new district heating system. One of the scheme’s masterminds is councillor Barrie Hargrove.” Points raised include:
- The scheme is “looking at connecting before the winter period – October or November at the latest.”
- The captured waste heat from SELCHP will go through a heat network to an five existing Southwark housing district heating network replacing heat produced from existing gas boilers. “It’s cheaper for the tenants and residents living in 2,500 homes as well, particularly for the council leaseholders because they’ll be paying 10 per cent less than the price of gas.”
- The scheme “cost £7 million – Veolia have put the capital in, there’s no capital cost to the council. Council tenants and leaseholders pay Veolia for their heating bills. There will be a profit share between the council and Veolia.”
Read the full interview here.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, Southwark, Waste
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London’s Zero Carbon Energy Resource
September 2013: Detailed GLA-commissioned study looking at “two particular categories of heat, both of which can be termed ‘secondary sources’: waste heat arising as a by-product of industrial and commercial activities; and the heat that exists naturally within the environment (air, ground, water).”
Details of the full report here (direct links below) the findings of which include:
- For most secondary heat sources, their temperature is too low for direct use. It is therefore necessary to ‘upgrade’ them to a useful temperature using heat pumps. Heat pump efficiency is important for secondary heat source utilisation as it affects the cost and carbon intensity of the heat delivered and will impact London’s electrical infrastructure.
- Analysis shows that by using heat pumps to deliver heat at 70°C, the total heat that could be delivered from secondary sources in London is of the order of 71 TWh/yr which is more than the city’s total estimated heat demand of 66 TWh/yr in 2010.
- The proportion of London’s heating demand that could be met by district heating networks operating at 70°C could rise to 30 TWh/yr by 2050, assuming ambitious retrofit programmes were implemented over that period.
Secondary Heat Study – Summary Report
Secondary Heat Study – Phase 1
Secondary Heat Study – Phase 2
Datasets for the study are available on the London Datastore
Posted in Decentralised Energy, Library, News
Tagged Community Heating, Decentralised Energy
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Latest review of implementation of London Plan energy policies
September 2013: The GLA have recently produced their latest update on how the energy and climate policies in London’s spatial planning strategy – the London Plan – have helped drive forward the development of lower carbon buildings in the capital. The new 2013 report – along with previous years studies – can be downloaded here. An earlier post here provides some details on these reports.
The study ‘Energy Planning: Monitoring the implementation of London Plan energy policies in 2012‘ provides an analysis of the energy assessments relating to all finalised (stage II) planning applications determined from 1 January to 31 December 2012. As the Executive Summary of the report sets out “London planning authorities must consult the Mayor on all planning applications that are of strategic importance to London . For each planning application referable to the Mayor, an energy assessment is required setting out how the development will meet the London Plan energy policies. Following the order of the Mayor’s energy hierarchy, each energy assessment is required to set out how the development will:
- Use less energy
- Supply energy efficiently
- Use renewable energy”
The analysis highlights how the London Plan’s policies are making significant headway in helping drive forward the development of more energy efficient, climate-friendly buildings in London. Some of the findings include:
- High levels of energy demand reduction achieved with developments exceeding the requirements of Building Regulations through energy efficiency alone. The associated investment of circa £32 million will help to reduce consumers’ energy bills.
- Circa £20 million of investment in new, high efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) plant able to produce 29MW of electricity and a similar amount of heat.
- 74MW of cumulative CHP electrical capacity has been secured through the planning process since 2010 to the end of 2012, broadly equivalent to the capacity required to supply 150,000 homes.
- Circa £133 million of investment in heat network infrastructure for approximately 53,000 communally heated dwellings
- Continued investment in on-site renewable energy systems, including approximately £16 million to provide circa 87,000m2 of photovoltaic solar panels.
Posted in Library, News
Tagged Buildings, CHP, Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Energy Efficiency, Photovoltaics, Planning, Renewable Energy
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Patience brings London district heating rewards
August 2013: COSPP article giving a little more background to the SELCHP heat offtake scheme in Southwark (more of which here).