Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall today (21 September) announced its plans to launch a low-carbon heat network in London. The scheme is anticipated to help decarbonise half a million homes, as well as commercial and public facilities by 2040, which the group estimates will save 26 million tonnes of carbon emissions over a 20 year period.
Construction of the new network – which could ultimately cover a radius of up to 30 miles – will be installed in phases and is set to commence in 2022, powered using a waste-to-energy facility at Belvedere in South East London run by waste partner Cory Group.
“We’ve got to think big when it comes to removing emissions from heating, on a scale which works for global cities like London,” Mike Reynolds, Managing Director at Vattenfall Heat UK said. “District heating presents the best option for consumers in urban areas. It’s the cheapest source of low-carbon heat, it’s reliable and it’s resilient against energy shocks.”
“Most of London’s 3.5 million homes, and thousands of commercial buildings, are heated using fossil fuels,” he added. “Yet there are abundant other sources of cleaner heat, such as the ground, water or waste heat from industrial processes.”
According to the Swedish group, heating makes up a third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, with the firm’s modelling predicting the new heat network could reduce emissions by up to 90% as compared to installing individual gas boilers in homes.
Cory is a waste-to-energy company that receives around 750,000 tonnes of non-recyclable black bag waste per year, with 89% of this used in its riverside waste transfer stations.
Of the group’s partnership with Vattenfall, Cory Chief Executive Dougie Sutherland said: “Our heat network project with Vattenfall is a prime example of how a collaboration can help the UK to address an urgent issue – the decarbonisation of heat…As Cory celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, we look forward to supplying spare heat from our operations to kickstart a heat revolution in one of the world’s major cities.”
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