Low carbon energy network in Solihull
Council partners with Vital Energi to provide affordable, low carbon heating to town centre.
About a third of the UK’s carbon emissions – the single biggest contributor to the total – comes from emissions from heating. But efforts to address this one building at a time can be difficult, time-consuming and expensive. In Solihull, the plan is to tackle the problem at source.
Adrien Grubb (Senior Consulting Engineer at SEL), Gemma Dyson (Pre-Construction Director at Vital Energi) and Cllr Andy Mackiewicz (Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Planning, Solihull Council). Photograph courtesy of Vital Energi
As part of its wider strategy to decarbonise the borough over the next 20 years, Solihull Council has agreed a plan for a new energy network that will generate low carbon heat and electrical power from a single energy centre. This will then be distributed directly among buildings in the town centre buildings through underground pipes and cables.
What’s more, the new Energy Centre will be built on brown-belt land next to the existing Tudor Grange Leisure Centre and will boast a range of renewable and low carbon energy solutions including air source heat pumps (ASHP).
Via a competitive tendering process, the council selected Vital Energi Ltd as the contractor who will build, operate and maintain the new network. The company is already a leading player nationally in the heat network and low carbon energy sector, successfully delivering exemplar, high-profile networks such as Leeds PIPES and Mersey Heat.
The project is also supported by expert technical advisers from Sustainable Energy Ltd, who will continue to be the primary client engineer throughout the construction phase.
Early work had already begun; in March this year, a series of site investigations and ecological surveys were carried out. With contracts now signed and planning permission in place, building work is expected to start later this summer.
In the first phase of development, the network will provide heat and power to public and private sector customers including council-owned buildings and education campuses. It’s hoped that they might be hooked up to the new system as early as next year.
After this, the plan is to connect other buildings in the town centre as well as link to planned commercial or residential developments, aligning with the council’s Town Centre Masterplan.
Funding to set up the new network has been provided by the government’s Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) and West Midlands Combined Authority, alongside the council’s own investment. Detailed financial modelling projects that the scheme will repay this investment over time.
Cllr Andy Mackiewicz, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Planning at Solihull Councill, says: ‘I’m really excited to have Vital on board. They bring a wealth of experience operating complex commercial schemes like this and have a proven track record of delivery. A huge amount of hard work has already gone in to developing this project and with Vital’s help we can finally get it over the line and bring the benefit of affordable, reliable low carbon energy to Solihull town centre customers, while contributing to an overall reduction in the borough’s carbon emissions.
‘The town centre energy network will be the first of its kind in Solihull and will hopefully pave the way for similar projects around the borough.’
Gemma Dyson, Pre-Construction Director at Vital Energi, adds: ‘We’re delighted to be partnering with Solihull Council to deliver this low carbon energy network. We’ve worked closely with the Council throughout the initial project stages, and now we’re really looking forward to continuing with our collaborative approach to deliver an energy network that makes significant strides in reducing the borough’s carbon emissions.’
Chrissy Woodman, Director of Sustainable Energy Ltd, says: ‘We are thrilled to bring our district energy technical expertise to the next phase of this exciting project and to continue collaborating with the exceptional team at Solihull Council. This project represents a significant step forward in the Council’s decarbonisation plans for the Borough, and we are proud to be part of it.’
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