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Tag Archives: Community Heating
Major North London heat network deal signed
14 January 2021: Press release from Enfield Council district energy company, Energetik, announcing that a long term agreement on the provision of heat has now been signed between the new energy from waste plant, to be built at the Edmonton EcoPark – and the major housing regeneration project based in Enfield, Meridian Water. “The agreement will provide a sustainable solution for the heating and hot water needs of more than 10,000 homes and businesses across the Meridian Water development, with the capacity to supply up to 30,000 more homes across the borough and beyond. Upon completion of the construction phase, Energetik will capture and use up to 60MW of otherwise untapped heat energy generated at NLWA’s replacement Energy Recovery Facility in Edmonton EcoPark.” Energetik states that “The reduction of emissions will be significant: homes connected to the Energetik heat network will reduce their consumption of fossil fuel and their carbon emission from heat by up to 92.3%. Moreover, with individual gas boilers no longer needed, the emission of excessive nitrogen oxides can be avoided, significantly benefiting local air quality and overall home safety for residents.”
The route of the heat network from Edmonton EcoPark to the Meridian Water development can be seen from the graphic above (which can be zoomed in on here). The project was also awarded funding in November 2020 from the Mayor’s Green New Deal programme.
Posted in News
Tagged Community Heating, Enfield, Waste
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A renewed focus for sustainability at the V&A
January 2021: Blog post by Sara Kassam, who has recently taken on the enviable position of Sustainability Lead at the V&A, “a role created to embed sustainability within the institution“. Sara highlights a number of important areas relevant to the scope of work of the V&A which she will be concentrating on (including sustainability in the fashion industry) – but great to see that V&A have recently joined the London Climate Change Partnership (LCCP), which focuses on key adaptation actions that the city must act on in response to climate change. Sara also rightly highlights that the sites the museum are located in will need to take into the climate action plans set by their respective boroughs – specifically Kensington and Chelsea, Tower Hamlets and Newham.
A particular interesting energy aspect around Exhibition Road is the heat and power infrastructure based in sites such as the Natural History Museum (more here – but paywall) and Imperial College – and the opportunity to further extend the network in the area.
Posted in News
Tagged Climate Adaptation, Community Heating, Kensington and Chelsea
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Plans for fossil free Canada Water development
11 December 2020: Article in Building magazine (and here) reporting that major developer British Land has said its £3.3bn mixed use Canada Water scheme will be fossil fuel free to help meet its target for a net zero carbon property portfolio by 2030. Encouragingly British Land’s Head of Development, Philip Tait, states that “improvements in heat pump technology meant it was easier for buildings to be all electric than when the buildings were designed four years ago.” Tait goes on to say that “Site-wide heat networks are a popular choice for large developments but Tait said he was wary about adopting one at Canada Water. Tait said: “It’s easy to say go for a centralised heating network. We don’t know if this is exactly the right thing to do yet. We want to keep things open and flexible to do the right thing as technology changes.”
The Canada Water scheme will eventually turn 53 acres of rundown land in south-east London into a new town centre and 3,000 homes. In February, it overcame the last major planning obstacle when London Mayor decided not to call it in. Further information on the energy strategy to be adopted for the site is set out in the Southwark Planning Committee report on the development from September 2019 – available here (see agenda item 5.1 main report) or directly here (see page 211 onwards).
Posted in News
Tagged Community Heating, heatpumps, Planning, Southwark
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Major funding secured for planned Enfield Heat Network
June 2020: Press release from Amber Infrastructure, fund manager for the Mayor’s Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF), announcing that MEEF “has provided £15 million to the London Borough of Enfield to part-finance the construction of their Meridian Water Heat Network which will supply over 10,000 new homes with better value, environmentally friendly energy as well as providing funding for the extension to some of Enfield’s existing networks.” Importantly, this money has been matched fund by the Government’s Heat Networks Investment Project (‘HNIP’), managed by Triple Point. Energetik, Enfield Council’s heat network company managing this project, state that this project will be the first in the UK to match HNIP and MEEF funds,
The heat supplied to the network will use waste heat from the planned Edmonton Energy Recovery Facility at the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) EcoPark from 2026 onwards, which has just received permission on on Thursday 25 June when councillors on the NLWA approved plans to let bidders come forward to construct the facility.
Posted in News
Tagged Community Heating, Enfield, MEEF, Waste
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Businesses must take bigger strides towards net zero carbon
14 April 2020: Welcome to see the following blog published on the website of London business trade association, London First, by Robert Spencer, Head of Sustainable Development at AECOM. The article highlights the challenges of decarbonising to Net Zero London’s built environment – including at looking at area-wide opportunities through deploying technologies such as heat networks. “A recent example of a heat network in action is on AECOM’s 339 Edgware Road project in London [sic – should be 399]. This is a mixed-use development encompassing 183 residential units, a Morrison’s supermarket and Oriental and Far Eastern retail malls and food courts.”
Some background to the energy strategy employed at this project is provided on the planning report from Brent Council here and the GLA’s planning report here.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged Brent, Community Heating
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“The power revolution could soon be moving from dream to reality”
10 August 2016: Welcome to see the Evening Standard today include a major comment piece by Leo Johnson on how “Small-scale projects such as those in Newham, Brixton and Islington give a glimpse of Britain’s energy future”.
Leo highlights three projects in London as signs of how the decentralised energy model is now in the ascendancy, shifting from the “dominant energy model, the centralised production and distribution of fossil fuel-based power through the grid”.
- “In Newham, for example, the Combined Heat and intelligent Power plant (CHiP) aims to harness the energy from “fatbergs”, the bus-size balls of grease which cost Thames Water an estimated £1 million a month to remove, using teams of trained “flushers” decked out with protective white suits and shovels who descend into London’s Victorian sewer system to hack up the fat. CHiP plans to use the fat instead to power 40,000 homes.” This project is fascinating and received a lot of coverage when first announced back in 2013 – which was covered in some detail in an earlier post here – but not much further information has been forthcoming from the project on their website.
- “In Brixton, the energy group Repowering is installing solar panels on the rooftops of housing association buildings to lower fuel bills, and is teaming up with Transport for London to introduce “energy gardens” across 50 London Overground sites.” In June of this year, Repowering was awarded a prestigious Ashden Award for their work – a case study and excellent video are posted on the Ashden website here. The Energy Gardens project was covered by ITV news a few weeks ago – see video here – and more can be seen at energygarden.org.uk
- “At the Bunhill Energy Centre project in Islington, whose second phase was opened by Mayor Sadiq Khan last month, they’re using heat from the Northern line tube to power a thousand homes.” Lots more about Bunhill here.
Leo also highlights some work commissioned by the GLA by engineers Buro Happold “have estimated that there is enough heat wasted in London alone to power 70 per cent of the city’s energy needs. What’s the potential for growth? Copenhagen provides 98 per cent of its space and water heating through district heating, at 45 per cent of the cost of normal oil heating bills. London’s uptake, better than the one to two per cent national average, is currently just five per cent.” The 2013 London Secondary Heat study can be downloaded here.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News, Renewable Energy
Tagged CHP, community energy, Community Heating, Islington, Lambeth, Newham, Photovoltaics, Waste
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Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor
July 2016: This month Mayor’s Question Time included the following:
an update on a GLA study to evaluate the potential for the use trackside solar power production; Post Brexit, how the Mayor will use his role in the Brexit negotiating team to preserve the hard-fought environmental protections; the number of decentralised energy projects that are projected to come online this year; how the Mayor can encourage Londoners to switch energy suppliers; an estimate of the number of connections that will be provided with heat from the Beddington energy from waste plant to the Sutton Decentralised Energy Network (SDEN) – and whether Barratt Homes has signed a heat agreement with the plant’s operator, Viridor; whether the Mayor will respond to the Government’s recently released Energy Company Obligation (ECO) consultation;
work to encourage energy efficiency improvements in the private rented sector (PRS);
the RE:NEW home energy efficiency retrofit programme’s strategy over the coming year; the number of jobs linked to the green economy in London; the Mayor’s role with C40 Cities, and borough surface water management plans
Previous months questions to the Mayor can be found here.
Posted in News, Renewable Energy
Tagged Brexit, Climate Adaptation, Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Energy Efficiency, Housing, Photovoltaics, RE:NEW, Sutton, Transport, Waste
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New GLA Decentralised Energy Framework Notice
July 2016: The GLA have issued a tender to secure a range of services related to supporting the growth of decentralised energy projects in the capital:
The tender (GLA80814 – Decentralised Energy Framework) (direct download) sets out that the GLA seeks consultants with experience in:
- developing business cases and business plans for DE projects
- structuring templates for project delivery
- providing commercial advise to private and public sector clients in negotiating key agreements
- assessing different delivery vehicles and ownership structures, such as Public Private Partnership (PPP) options — Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and Joint Venture (JV) structures
- producing early project commercial documentation (including risk registers) and agreements
- working with financial advisors in providing guidance on possible funding sources, including maintaining relationships with banks and investment boutiques
- in-depth knowledge of energy markets, energy trading and negotiations.
Much of the work undertaken in this area to date, carried out by the GLA through the Decentralised Energy Project Delivery Unit (DEPDU) – which officially closed in July 2015 – is posted online at www.londonheatmap.org.uk.
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, Decentralised Energy
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Islington District Heating Planning Guidance Published
July 2016: Islington have recently published new environmental design planning guidance on heat networks: The guidance is released in two parts – with Part 1 giving an overview of the existing and and planned Islington heat networks, as well as an introduction to the principal behind heat networks (referencing the GLA’s 2014 London Heat Network Manual). Part 2 provides technical guidance to developers looking to connect to Islington’s Bunhill heat and power network.
The Council sets out that it is “committed to working with partners to promote and develop decentralised energy (DE) networks, with a particular focus on areas of the borough with the greatest potential for such networks. Existing DE networks within the borough will be protected and their expansion supported. All development will be required to contribute to the development of DE networks, including by connecting to such networks where these exist within the proximity of the development.”
Posted in Decentralised Energy, News, Uncategorized
Tagged Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Islington
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Energy and Climate Questions to the Mayor
June 2016: Positive to see the focus on energy and climate issues by a number of London Assembly members at the first question time of the new Mayor, Sadiq Khan. This month’s questions included the following issues:
the quantity of electricity supplied to TfL through the Mayor’s Licence Lite operation and few other questions on Licence Lite (here and here); supporting the growth of London community energy schemes; the London Energy Strategy; committing to London’s 25 per cent decentralised energy target; the 2020 nearly zero energy buildings target; the publication of the annual update to the GLA Energy and Climate Change Mitigation Strategy; London Energy Plan supporting studies; supporting the growth of district heating projects; support for London’s 2025 60 per cent carbon reduction target; the future of the RE:NEW and RE:FIT building retrofit programmes; the number of domestic energy efficiency retrofits supported by RE:NEW since January 2015; numbers on the GLA’s boiler scrappage list; ring fencing London’s Zero Carbon Homes offset fund; the number of zero carbon homes that could be built by 2020; zero carbon buildings planning requirements will come into force in 2019; how much money could be raised through the Zero Carbon Homes offset fund; interim targets to the Mayor’s manifesto commitment for London to be a zero carbon city by 2050; climate change and water vapour; how the Mayor will support London’s low carbon economy; emissions from river traffic (and another); zero emission cabs and PHVs abd if CO2 is a pollutant – and finally:
whether the Mayor understands “that further increases in carbon dioxide levels will not significantly increase average global temperatures due to near saturation absorption by CO2 in the 13 – 17 µm band of the infra-red spectrum”.
Previous months questions to the Mayor can be found here.
Heat metering: socio-technical challenges in district-heated social housing
April 2016: “The case of a district-heated council block in London is presented where the installation of individual heat meters was planned in 2010 but had to be suspended due to concerns about implications for occupant heating costs in light of the thermal performance of the building. It illustrates a technically and socially complex environment where fairness in allocating heating costs is an important concern” Research paper presented in academic journal Building Research and Information. Link here. Paper downloadable here.
Sutton Decentralised Energy Network Tender
April 2016: 
Sutton Council have recently issued a tender to support a planning application “for the construction of district heating pipes on behalf of the Authority” (specification here). Opportunity Sutton highlight how the “project will utilise waste heat from the proposed Beddington Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) and existing landfill gas engines, both of these are owned by Viridor.” Further details are available in the following brochure.