Tag Archives: Community Heating

Greenwich Peninsula DE network

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Admin

April 2013: Industry journal Utility Week revealed last week that E.ON is planning to support the development of a district heating development in the Greenwich Peninsula. The brief story states that “The energy company is in talks with the Royal Borough of Greenwich to develop heat networks around the O2 Arena”.

E.ON’s website provides some further detail on their role to date: “Initially E.ON undertook a high level technical model of the Greenwich Peninsula to assess and validate both heat demand and the indicative heat network design. A design audit shortly followed. E.ON is advising the Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration venture on the heat network design and specification provided by other consultancies, ensuring it’s sufficiently robust to be adopted by an ESCo (Energy Services Company).”

The March 2012 Greenwich Heat Mapping Study provides much more information, setting out that the “Greenwich Peninsula cluster focuses on the existing district heating network at the Greenwich Millennium Village and the O2 Stadium site and the proposed district heating network for the Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration Limited (GPRL) site. The new redevelopment site consists of 10,000 new homes and 340,000 square meters of mixed use space.”

The study goes on to say that a wider area heat network could in fact be developed by “engaging with the developers for Heart of East Greenwich, Lovell’s Wharf and Enderby Wharf to gain clarity on progress and potential for linking to wider DE network”.

Greenwich’s Climate Change Strategy from 2011 sets out plans for the wider use of decentralised energy across the borough. Greenwich’s Core Strategy consultation also sets out plans for supporting the development of CHP.

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Getting into Hot Water…

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Admin

March 2013: Presentation made at the the recent Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) district heating conference, by Bob Fiddik, Sustainable Development & Energy Team Leader at Croydon Council, giving some valuable insights into the challenges faced when developing heat networks. The presentation includes:

  • Some of the history behind the failure of the SELCHP energy from waste plant to develop the expected district heat network anticipated when it was built – and the recent work now being undertaken to help turn this around
  • The unhappy circumstances that led to the stalling of the hugely exciting Elephant & Castle heat network project, and
  • An update to the major district heating scheme currently being planned for Croydon.

Slide 14 of the presentation sets out – as challenging as circumstances have been in the past – things are not unfortunately getting easier:

Download ‘Getting into hot water…not always that easy’ here.

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Intelligent energy integration for London’s decentralised energy projects

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Admin

15 March 2013: “The Mayor is interested in how decentralised energy can form part of a Smart energy system to provide more efficient, sustainable and resilient supply. He has commissioned a technical and market analysis of the emerging opportunities to use smart technologies and services to integrate the production and use of heat and power within London. This considers how an intelligent energy system might evolve in London in the period up to 2050, the key technologies that could be deployed and the organisational structures required.”

Download the report “‘Smart City’ – Intelligent energy integration for London’s decentralised energy projects” here. Will return to some of the outputs of this report in a future post.

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District Heating: The New Energy Utility

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Admin

March 2013:  DECC launched its Heat Strategy at the March 2012 CHPA District Heating conference (see the DECC press release here). The Strategy highlights that up to 50% of buildings could be connected to heat networks by 2050. DECC are due to publish their policies and actions related to the Heat Strategy later this month and hence it’s timely that the CHPA are holding a follow up conference – District Heating: The New Energy Utility – on Friday 22 March 2013, where the keynote speaker will be David Wagstaff, Head of Heat Strategy and Policy at DECC.

Other sessions on the day will also include updates on the following issues:

  • The CHPA’s ‘Big Offer’, presented to DECC in November 2012, which lists out a series of measures that Government could take to boost the number and size of district heating schemes.
  • Finance is a key issue for district heating and there will be a session on how sources could expand with the industry in future.
  • On how Scotland is backing district heating through several government initiatives working to develop projects.
  • Information on an emerging  customer protection scheme for domestic customers on district heating.

The conference will take place at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London WC2. Places are free to attend but limited, so if you wish to attend please  book early by emailing brian.mcguire@chpa.co.uk

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DE plans for Croydon Town Centre

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Admin

February 2013: Following a consultation last Summer, a Croydon Town Centre Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) has just been adopted by the Mayor,  Croydon Council and TfL. OAPFs  set out planning, regeneration and design guidance for major growth centres in London, called Opportunity Areas. The London Plan identifies 33 Opportunity Areas one of which is the Croydon Metropolitan Centre and its environs.

Included within the  OAPF are considerations of future energy requirements within the area. Chapter 4 of the document sets out the following:

“4.68 Delivery of a Croydon Central Area Heat and Power Scheme is an objective of the Croydon Council climate change strategy. In order to achieve a major reduction in the Borough’s carbon footprint, and meet the Mayor’s decentralised energy target, the Core Strategy (Policy CS6) expects that larger  developments and refurbishments should be enabled to connect to district energy networks based on centralised combined heat and power plants (CHP), particularly in the COA and other district centres within the borough.

4.69 Croydon Council has undertaken a detailed study on the viability of delivering a district heating network to support the regeneration of the COA. The scheme would provide low carbon heat to new developments which would enable them to meet the energy performance standards required by planning policy and national Building Regulations. Existing buildings would also be able to connect to the scheme to benefit from the lower carbon heat. Some key features are:

• A centralised “energy centre” fuelled by gas fired Combined Heat & Power plant

• This heat is distributed across the COA as hotwater in a network of buried pipes

• The electricity generated could be sold for use in near by buildings with the excess being exported to the public supply grid

• The scheme would be financed, designed, builtand operated by a commercial partner

• Cost of connecting to the scheme would be lower than making on-site heat provision

• Cost of heat to building users will be less than alternative on-site provision of heat (e.g. having own boiler system and paying for heat)

• Wandle Road car park has been identified asa potential location for the energy centre butfurther feasibility work is required to assess thisoption in more detail

4.70 It is envisaged that the first phase of the scheme would connect to new developments in mid Croydon and East Croydon, along with a core of existing public buildings. The full potential would expand to buildings across the wider COA area. The council will be working with the GLA “Decentralised Energy Project Delivery Unit” to configure the scheme so that it would be commercially attractive to the energy services market. This work is currently ongoing. As and when new development comes forward it will be expected to help deliver and connect into such a district heating system, if feasible.”

Other OAPF energy studies undertaken include Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea, London Riverside and White City amongst others.

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‘Groundbreaking plan to use excess heat from tube system for domestic electricity supply’

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Admin

8 February 2013:   Following on from the recent inauguration of the Bunhill heat and power scheme, the Islington Tribune newspaper reports that the council is looking to use waste “heat from London Underground that escapes through a vent in City Road…to supply new private homes being built nearby.” The proposal was discussed at the Council’s Executive meeting on 7 February where the borough’s Energy Strategy for 2013-16 was also set out. The papers presented at the meeting provide additional information on the heat offtake scheme:

“The network extension will be innovative by capturing waste heat from the London Underground tube tunnel vent and the electrical substations on City Road. £1m grant funding has been applied for and is now available from the European Commission (EC) to help part-fund this innovative extension of the Bunhill heat network. £2.7M council capital is required to match this funding and this is being taken forward as part of the 2013/14 budget process.”

Building on the existing Seasonal Health and Affordable Warmth (SHAW) plan, the Strategy paper additionally sets out that a borough Fuel Poverty Strategy will be developed by March 2013. Download Making Islington fairer in tough times: Energy strategy 2013 -16 here.

Also discussed at the Executive meeting were procurement details of community heating system on the Finsbury Estate.

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PQ on SELCHP

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Admin

22 January 2013: Lyn Brown, MP for West Ham, asked the following question in relation to the South East London Combined Heat and Power plant (SELCHP):

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had on the potential effects on human health in Newham of the operation of the South East London Combined Heat and Power incinerator.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has not held any discussions on the potential effects on human health in Newham of the South East London Combined Heat and Power incinerator.

Energy from waste incinerators are regulated under environmental permits granted by the Environment Agency to meet the strict emissions standards of the waste incineration directive. The Environment Agency currently has no regulatory or compliance concerns regarding the performance of the South East London Combined Heat and Power incinerator and is not aware of any public health issues. Any potential effects on health would be a matter for the Environment Agency to assess in conjunction with the Health Protection Agency.

More on SELCHP here.

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Wembley Decentralised Energy Plans move forward

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Admin

January 2013: An update on plans for a decentralised energy network around Wembley has become available through the following news release from energy consultancy firm Ramboll:

“London Borough of Brent and Greater London Authority have recently commissioned Ramboll Energy to develop a decentralised energy masterplan for the Wembley Regeneration Area. …The scale of regeneration, together with the nature and mix of building uses, suggests that a district heating network is likely to have a strong role to play in delivering carbon reduction to the area. The masterplan will focus on the role of district heating, but also consider the role for building level and plot level renewable technologies in locations where the heat network may not be suitable or economically viable.”

Brent have already commissioned a heat map for the borough (which is downloadable from the London Heat Map website) and an initial feasibility study for a Wembley decentralised energy project was originally undertaken in 2008 (see earlier post on this). Details for DE network are also set out in the 2011 Wembley Local Development Framework consultation sustainability report. Brent are also advancing plans for a DE network in Kilburn – see earlier post on this.

Finally, an academic study of Brent’s planning rules and decentralised energy can be viewed here.

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Islington – “Heating rebate helps thousands”

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Admin
8 January 2013: Islington news release: “Three-thousand council tenants with communal heating or hot water will receive a rebate of at least £145 per household next month, as the council prepares to pass on savings it has made in buying gas.

“Islington Council has secured an improved deal in its bulk purchasing of gas for estates with communal heating and hot water, which means the savings from the lower cost of gas can be passed on to tenants.” Read the full release here.

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Government Policy on generation of electricity by local authorities

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Admin

17 December 2012: John Pugh, MP for Southport, has asked a useful parliamentary question around what the Government’s position is on promoting the generation of electricity by local authorities. Apparently it has one.

Col 534W: John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the generation of electricity by local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker:  In 2010, we gave local authorities the power to sell electricity generated from renewable sources. It is therefore up to local authorities to generate and sell electricity if they wish and we are encouraging them to do so where this is appropriate. We have also facilitated this through ‘lite’ electricity supply licence, which would allow a local authority district heating operator to sell electricity at retail rates to consumers.

We are also supporting community ownership of localised renewable energy projects through the Feed-in-Tariffs scheme. Local projects engage neighbourhoods and communities in becoming involved with generating local heat and power e.g. Combined Heat and Power with District Heating (CHP-DH) networks in Woking, Southampton, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Local authorities also have a role in encouraging energy efficiency take up, including the Green Deal, and looking after consumer interests, for example, through the pioneer places and core cities initiatives and through supporting or running collective switching schemes.

Some points on this:

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South Bank Decentralised Energy Scheme Proposed

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Admin

14 December 2012: There were several news reports this week (here, here and here) that plans have been released to redevelop the area around the Shell Centre on the South Bank which include mention of an onsite ‘energy centre’.

The developer’s press release goes on to say that “The system will be designed to interconnect with a district heating network being explored for the wider South Bank area.” This is referring to a study undertaken in 2009 looking at the potential for an area-wide decentralised energy heat network connecting new and existing buildings along the South Bank, which was undertaken by London South Bank University for the South Bank Employers’ Group (SBEG).

The planning application is to be submitted to Lambeth  before Christmas. Some additional information on the South Bank Master Plan is posted here and on the Shell Centre Dialogue here.

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London Housing and Community Heating Presentations

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Admin

December 2012: Three talks focused on communal heating were presented at the recent National Housing Federation ‘London Development Conference. The series of ‘go on, go green’ slides – downloadable here – contain some useful information:

  • Sam Hunt of BSSEC sets out some really clear slides on the design approach for heat mapping, as well as issues that need to be considered when implementing district heating and CHP. Worth a look.
  • Robert Greene of a2dominion housing association states that they have a 6,000 home development pipeline over the next 5 years, of which 70% will use communal heating systems
  • Results from an ongoing G15 – Communal Heating Research Project are also presented (G15 group – consists of London 15 largest Housing Associations) and highlight that there are currently 134 Schemes with Communal (Decentralised) heating. Much more very useful info is touched upon from the research, however the final results from this will not be published until April/May 2013. See the slides for the full information (slide 28 onwards).
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