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Tag Archives: Community Heating
Southwark Council creates SELCHP heating network
August 2013: Industry newsletter Utility Week reports on Southwark Council’s heat network development using heat from the SELCHP energy from waste plant in nearby Lewisham (for full details, see earlier post here). The story relates:
“Councillor Barrie Hargrove, cabinet member for transport, environment, and recycling said: “As the first London borough to take such a positive step, we are signalling our strong commitment to the reduction of carbon emissions and keeping Southwark an environmentally friendly zone.”
“Mayor of London Boris Johnson, said:” Local heat and power supplies not only save Londoners money and reduce carbon emissions but also help to provide London with a more secure, sustainable, cost-effective energy supply.”
The Financial Times have also covered the project with their own singular headline ‘French rubbish scheme hots up to cut London energy bills‘.
HNDU and Heat Networks
July 2013: DECC’s recent publication ‘Summary evidence on District Heating Networks in the UK’ highlights that extent that London dominates the regions in relation to the use of district heating. The report sets out that “London has over half the heat networks in the UK (55%) with two thirds (65%) being small”. Table 5 from the evidence paper (copied below) provides some additional detail:
To take forward the Government’s 2012 Future of Heating Strategy, a series of actions were set out in a further report published earlier this year – The future of heating: meeting the challenge which includes a major chapter on heat networks. Not suprisingly, London is featured prominently with examples of recent activity on developing decentralised energy networks in Islington, the Upper Lea Valley, the Olympic Park and Stratford City, as well as the heat network installed in The Shard.
The report also highlights how work is being coordinated in London through the DEPDU initiative. Page 55 sets out “in September 2011 the GLA established the Decentralised Energy Project Delivery Unit (DEPDU) to support the London boroughs in bringing forward plans for decentralised energy. The unit, which is staffed by technical, financial and commercial specialists,has focused primarily on developing heat network projects.”
DECC are now seeking to replicate this model through the creation of HNDU. The ‘meeting the challenge’ paper states that “DECC will support local authorities in developing heat networks by establishing a Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU) within the Department that will work closely with individual authorities’ project teams in England and Wales. DECC will provide funding over two financial years to contribute to local authorities’ costs in carrying out early stage heat network development. This will enable local authorities to bring forward projects to the stage where they are suitable for investment including loan finance from the Green InvestmentBank or commercial lenders.” [p38]
£3m over two years will be committed to HNDU to provide specialist expertise and be a “bridge between the local authority and the market, acting as a ‘critical friend”. The unit will also have a “funding stream of £6m over two years [which] will be available to local authorities. It will contribute to the cost of procuring technical reports and advice on the phases of a heat network’s development.” [p57] The HNDU team held a workshop in London last week where they set out their likely criteria for how they will judge applications to the fund – see the final slide (slide 12) of the following DECC presentation for full details on this. Attendees to the workshop were also informed that the HNDU team is being finalised at the moment, with an announcement expected shortly on the appointment of a lead Investment Director who will head the unit. Finance is anticipated to become available to local authorities for qualifying projects from this Autumn. Though the HNDU team has set itself a 7-year business plan – funding secured from DECC only lasts until 2015 at the moment.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, DECC, Decentralised Energy
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Euston Road Energy Centre and District Heating Network
July 2013: After several years building the case, it is hugely positive to see that Camden have now released a tender for a £5.7m decentralised energy network along Euston Road. The tender document sets out that:
“The London Borough of Camden has identified a cluster of four communally heated estates in Somers Town, Kings Cross, London NW1 which are in close proximity to the Francis Crick Institute, a new major biomedical research facility due to be completed in 2015/16. The aggregated volume of heat and electrical demands for the estates and Francis Crick Institute has been assessed by Arup on behalf of the Decentralised Energy for London programme and is considered to provide an excellent opportunity for a phased decentralised energy network. Full planning consent for a centralised energy centre has been secured and full Cabinet approval has been secured from the London Borough of Camden to procure the project.”
The tender information goes on: “The scheme will be commissioned and delivered in the following phases:
- Phase 1 – would see a heat only district heating project design, built, operated and maintained for the four estates via a district heating network connected to a central energy centre for which full planning permission has been granted.
- Phase 2 – Once the Francis Crick Institute (“the Crick”) establishes a sufficient electrical demand (envisaged 2016) and an agreement is reached, Camden Council may commission the installation, operation and maintenance of a c.1MWe CHP unit (indicative size only) at the Phase 1 Energy Centre with a direct electrical connection to the Crick. Upon Phase 2 commission, the CHP system shall then also be the primary source of heat supply to the district heating network installed in Phase 1.
- Phase 3 – Camden Council intends to extend the network to connect to Council regeneration planned for the wider Somers Town area over the next 4-5 years. This phase will not be procured within this exercise. However, the design and build under Phase 1 will include the expansion capacity to support future district heating demands.
The proposed heat route can be seen on the planning application for the CHP here. An open day will be held for bidders on Monday, 5 August 2013.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged Camden, CHP, Community Heating, Decentralised Energy
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Southwark Heat Network Update
July 2013: Deborah Collins, Strategic Director of Environment and Leisure of Southwark Council provided a useful update of the Southwark Heat Network project at the recent BASELondon show.
1,200 Southwark properties will benefit from the district heating network, which will be fed from currently wasted heat from the SELCHP waste to energy plant, based in neighbouring Lewisham. Work has been ongoing on installing the heat mains for the scheme and it is anticipated that this month will see the completion of all remaining pipes being installed and final boiler room modifications. Testing and calibration of the scheme will run over August and September with October being the target month for heat delivery to residents.
Further information can be viewed on the following presentation.
Southwark will also see further decentralised energy systems in the borough, with CHP and PV systems being installed on the new Elephant and Castle leisure centre and also biomass and PV used in Camberwell at the new Sacred Heart school development.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged Biomass, Community Heating, Lewisham, Photovoltaics, SELCHP, Southwark
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Nuclear heat for London…?!
27 June 2013: The Climate Change Committee released their 4th progress report yesterday. A very useful read – however it does include the following oddity:
“District heating should be based on sources from low-carbon fuels such as biomass. Further work is required to identify the potential for such sources. For example, in the London heat map produced by the Greater London Authority, the primary source was identified as waste heat from nuclear power, but further work is required to determine whether this is viable and the costs and barriers associated with this approach.” [p133]
No – we have no idea what this is about either…!
Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor
June 2013: This month the Mayor has been asked questions in relation to:
the Mayor’s ability to help resolve the EU-China solar panel import tariffs conflict; savings achieved by householders going through the Mayor’s home energy efficiency programme RE:NEW; the number of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) provided under RE:NEW; the number of schemes supported by the London Energy Efficiency Fund (LEEF); an update on the Whitehall and Pimlico District Heating Schemes project; the amount of money spent by the GLA from funds awarded by DECC; the number of retrofits delivered by this funding; and the number of jobs delivered; Greenwich Power Station; Transport for London’s energy strategy; discussions with energy suppliers; the impact of future energy price increases on London’s economy; the RE:FIT in Schools initiative; Sutton incinerator; the RE:NEW evaluation report; Green Deal assessments under RE:NEW; flats treated under RE:NEW; fuel poor houses treated under RE:NEW; solid wall households treated under RE:NEW; the number of pensioner households treated under RE:NEW; TfL’s support for biomethane buses; hybrid buses supported by the Green Bus Fund; carbon and the London Enterprise Panel; carbon and the Growing Places Fund; Whitehall District Heating scheme; research undertaken to develop the London Thames Develoment Gateway Network; research into welfare reform and fuel poverty; jobs and the insulation industry; the number of energy efficiency retrofits carried out under funding; the amount of the £5.6m DECC funding provided to the GLA for energy efficiency funding spent.
Previous months questions to the Mayor can be found here.
Posted in News
Tagged Community Heating, ECO, EPCs, Green Deal, RE:FIT, RE:NEW, Transport, Waste
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London District Heating Workshop
June 2013: Earlier this month the Greater London Authority (GLA) hosted a workshop that “covered the design principles of secondary heating systems in new developments, to ensure compatibility with existing or planned DH networks across London.” Presentations made on the day are available to view here including talks on the Kings Cross decentralised energy scheme, and on the latest proposals for the development of Battersea Power Station.
The workshop builds on the release earlier this year of the initial version of the GLA’s ‘District Heating Manual for London‘ (link to manual here). The press released issued at the Manual’s launch states that “London is experiencing a significant uplift in decentralised energy schemes with City Hall currently supporting the delivery of schemes valued at more than £300m where the principles of the manual are being applied. This is helping to support a growth in the sector including jobs and infrastructure investment in the capital.
“The manual, the first of its kind in the UK, is designed to be a ‘live’ document that will be updated and feedback is encouraged in time for the next revision to be published this summer.”
Southwark Heat Services Contract Agreed
April 2013: Southwark has recently agreed and signed a ‘Head of Terms’ agreement on a heat services contract with Veolia for “the provision of low carbon heat from the South East London Combined Heat and Power (SELCHP)”. As set out in a 2012 press release from the council, the project is to to create a district energy network which will transport heat – that is currently wasted – from Veolia’s South East London Combined Heat and Power (SELCHP) Energy from Waste plant in Lewisham, to serve six housing estate in Southwark. Further information on the project can be seen in an earlier post here.
Following a period of consultation last year with leaseholders setting out the proposals and projected reductions in heating costs (see documents here – see the ‘Statement of Case’ document in particular to the proposed reduction in heat prices to tenants), the council has now completed negotiations with Veolia. A new Southwark report sets out some of the key requirements of the agreement. These include that:
- The cost of heat could be no more than the cost of heating using the current gas boilers. This has been agreed.
- There could be no capital investment required from the Council. This has been agreed.
- The full operational risk of the system should be taken by the contractor. This has been agreed.
- A price indexation mechanism should ensure that the cost of the heat rises less than the expected rise in energy prices. This has been agreed
- There should be significant environmental benefits including a reduction in CO2 emissions and local pollution. This has been agreed.
- The Council should share in the benefits of any expansion of the heat network.
The contract will expire in April 2033 at the same time as the boroughs waste PFI contract with Veolia. This project has clearly taken considerable time and effort by all concerned, but particularly Southwark officers, and they should be congratulated on seeing this project through. Getting heat output from the SELCHP plant after such a long time (the plant is some 20 years old now) is a considerable ‘win’ and should hopefully provide energy cost reductions to Southwark residents and broader environmental benefits in terms of carbon reduction.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, Lewisham, SELCHP, Southwark
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Heygate Energy Strategy
April 2013: The Mayor and Southwark Council have recently given final planning permission to the development of the Heygate Estate in Elephant and Castle which, as the following GLA press release states, will see the “23 acre site demolished and redeveloped delivering up to 2,469 new homes, a quarter of which will be affordable, as well as new shops, offices, leisure and community facilities and a park.”
As one of the largest regeneration projects in the country, there’s been considerable focus on the development – including the energy strategy for the project (details on previous posts here and here). The final energy assessment report for the development (and updated addendum) can be accessed at Southwark’s Planning website (and directly here Strategy, Addendum).
A site-wide district heating network is being proposed connecting all apartments and commercial units supplied from a single energy centre. The energy centre building would also include an education centre and cafe. Which is nice…
Further information is contained in the Mayor’s Planning report on the application – paras 210 onward highlighting that:
- A potential to link the heat network to the proposed SELCHP district heating network, in Bermondsey has been explored. This is unlikely to be viable in the near term. The applicant has committed to designing the energy infrastructure to allow future connection to SELCHP should it prove viable at a later stage.
- A phased installation of combined heat and power (CHP) is being proposed in line with the phasing of the development. This would begin with a 263 kWe gas fired CHP unit being switched on during 2019. This would then be followed by a 985 kWe gas fired CHP unit being switched on in 2021 as the lead heat source for the site heat network.
- The preferred renewable energy strategy for the site is to use biomethane fuel supplied over the gas network. This renewable fuel would be produced and injected into the national grid elsewhere and then purchased as a credit to supply some or all of the gas consumption requirements of the CHP plant and gas boilers in the energy centre.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, Planning, Southwark
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Greenwich Power Station- a long term low carbon energy solution for London?
April 2013: Greenwich Power Station (GPS) is Transport for London (TfL)/London Underground’s (LU) single remaining source of non-National Grid electricity. It’s Wiki entry lists it as a “a standby oil, gas, and formerly coal-fired power station available as a back-up electricity source for the London Underground”. A past TfL environment report sets out that “Originally a coal-fired power station, Greenwich was built between 1902 and 1910 in order to supply electricity to the London Tram Network. Today electricity is generated by eight Rolls Royce Avon gas turbine engines which were installed between 1967 and 1972. These engines are fuelled by natural gas and are also capable of running on fuel oil which is stored as an emergency reserve at the site.”
A few months ago, TfL issued something called a ‘Periodic Indicative Notice’ – the purpose of which was to allow interested parties with appropriate experience to participate in “developing a solution to exploit opportunities for low carbon energy generation” at Greenwich power station.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Greenwich, Transport
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Energietübbing for Crossrail?
April 2013: This week’s New Scientist features how “Smart heat is helping building the next energy revolution”. The article (subscription only…) looks how the use of technologies such as combined heat and power (CHP) and heat pumps could help “reverse some of the damaging effects that waste heat from our towns and cities is having on the climate ” – and the use of waste heat from London Underground is also examined:
“As passengers often complain, exhaust heat accumulates in the train tunnels under many of our largest cities. Even on a cold day, temperatures on platforms in the London Underground can reach 20 °C. To harvest that warmth, German companies Züblin and Rehau, together with Arup, have designed a liner for tunnel segments that functions like the buried coils in ground source heat pumps, using the heat generated by engines and braking along with that from the surrounding ground to warm the refrigerant, again by compression. As this transfers the excess energy from the tunnel to the refrigerant, the process also causes the tunnel to cool.”
“The lining – dubbed Energietübbing – was placed into a 54-metre-long stretch of a new high-speed rail tunnel in Jenbach, Austria, to supply the municipal building above with enough heat to completely replace the existing boiler. It is still being optimised, but in its first successful winter it coped with outside temperatures as low as -15 °C. London commuters could soon benefit as well. Crossrail, a railway being constructed under the city, is considering Energietübbing for several segments of the new tunnel, where it too would both cool the tunnel and provide the resulting heat to buildings above.”
A recent question to the Mayor highlights which of the stations on the Crossrail route are planned to integrate heat pump technology to provide waste heat to buildings above. “Out of the twelve oversite development schemes Crossrail is developing only two will not include a capability for using ground source heat pumps. These are at Woolwich and Limmo, where Crossrail is constructing a vent shaft. At these sites a large proportion of the oversite development schemes are not integrated with Crossrail infrastructure. Future owners of these oversite development schemes will however be able to install ground source heat pump technology within the buildings foundations. “