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The vital part that regional heat networks can play

Home » Feature Articles » The vital part that regional heat networks can play

Alison Ryan, deputy Healthcare lead at Mott MacDonald, Chris Kelly, an associate director, Estates Compliance and Risk, at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT), and Mike Cooke, MD, North & Scotland, at Vital Energi Utilities, look at the role of regional heat networks in addressing some of the challenges ahead with respect to achieving Net Zero Carbon in the healthcare and education sectors.

Leeds PIPES is an award-winning district heating scheme delivered in partnership by Leeds City Council and Vital Energi to provide affordable, reliable, and low carbon heat and hot water. The original intent was to develop a city-wide heat network to supply heat created as a by-product from burning Leeds’ non-recyclable waste at the Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility (RERF) in Cross Green (see Figure 1), to numerous council homes, public sector buildings (including hospitals and universities), businesses, and new developments around Leeds City Centre

A District Heating Network (DHN) is a system of underground pipes that delivers heat and hot water to buildings connected to the network. The primary heating is steam generated as part of the waste recycling process, and the secondary ‘network’ consists of buried heating flow and return pipework that serves the various buildings. District Heating (or Heat Networks as they are also known) systems provide low carbon heat which would otherwise go to waste. There are currently networks operating in Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester, London, Glasgow, and others parts of the UK. 

The UK Government is investing over half a billion pounds in funds and programmes, working in conjunction with industry and local authorities, to develop new heat networks and improve existing ones through the Heat Network Transformation Programme (HNTP).

Recovering recyclable materials

The Recycling and Energy Recovery Factory in Leeds, managed by Veolia, recovers recyclable materials and generates energy from the city’s black bin waste. The facility has a living wall, enhancing the local biodiversity, and harvesting rainwater for use on site.

The scheme helps reduce Leeds’ carbon footprint, and saves the council over £7 m each year, compared with landfill. As shown in Figure 2, the heat network runs from the Cross Green RERF Energy Centre to Saxton Gardens Energy Centre, and across Leeds City Centre. Major connections include government buildings, universities, schools, healthcare buildings, commercial buildings, and almost 2,000 council homes, as shown in Table 1.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has taken steps towards reducing gas consumption at its St James’s University Hospital site by identifying buildings to be connected to the newly developed internal low-carbon network, supplied by CHP waste heat, heat pumps, and a bulk connection to the Leeds PIPES district heat network (all funded by grants awarded by the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Schemes 1 and 3A). The Leeds PIPES network distribution runs past the St. James’s University Hospital site boundary, and the hospital’s Beckett Wing has already been connected to the network. A further 10 buildings are proposed to be connected in the next financial year using funding secured via PSDS Phase 3 applications. These connections reduce demand on the central site heating infrastructure, thereby reducing fossil fuel demand.

Heat pump installation

A significant heat pump installation was added to the central site services. The heat pump installation and extension of the on-site LTHW network allow for increased efficiencies, and utilisation of the waste heat from the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant.

The low carbon network provides heat at temperatures compatible with the existing distribution temperatures on site. Existing central site heating plant will be retained for back-up and resilience while the changeovers are being undertaken. Additionally, the reduction in carbon through switching to lower temperatures is part of the Trust’s decarbonisation strategic plans, and positively impacts the trajectory in achieving its milestones, as set out in its Green Plan to meet the 2032 target for an 80% reduction in carbon emissions associated with energy consumption

Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme

As stated on the Government (gov.uk) website (https://tinyurl.com/299wrxv7), the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037, compared with a 2017 baseline. 

Phase 1 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme provided £1 bn in grants over the financial years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 as part of the Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs 2020 commitment to support the UK’s economic recovery from COVID-19. It aimed to support up to 30,000 jobs in the low carbon and energy efficiency sectors, and reduce carbon emissions from the public sector

Phase 2 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme provided £75 m of grant funding for the financial year 2021-2022. It had a stronger focus on heat decarbonisation than Phase 1, in order to deliver greater carbon emission reductions. It supported the public sector in taking a ‘whole building’ approach when decarbonising its estates.

Phase 3 of the PSDS

Phase 3 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will provide £1.425 bn of grant funding over the financial years 2022-2023 to 2024-2025. 

Phase 3a and 3b have closed for applications, but the next application window (Phase 3c) is expected to open to applications in the autumn of this year. The BEIS delivery body, Salix Finance, manages the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund provides grants for public sector bodies to put in place a heat decarbonisation plan, providing them with information they need to develop future applications to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

Both the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and the Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund are open to public sector bodies in England, and areas of reserved public services across the UK.

STEM Links

The Leeds PIPES project is also being used to educate local school children on climate change. The programme also supports a range of National Curriculum and Key Stage themes, such as geography, sustainable development, science, numeracy, and literacy. 

 For further information and booking, email leeds.enquiries@veolia.co.uk to get a booking form. The Leeds PIPES website address is: https://www.leeds-pipes.co.uk/

Chris Kelly

Chris Kelly is an associate director – Estates Compliance and Risk, at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. With 14 years’ experience across three Trusts, he is a key member of the Estates and Facilities senior leadership team at one of the largest, most complex acute Trusts within the NHS. He has lead responsibility for the Estates Decarbonisation Strategy ‘Roadmap to Net Zero’. As the lead for Compliance and Risk Management across all internal and external physical assets and the associated backlog maintenance (Critical Infrastructure Risk), he supports the delivery of high-quality services, buildings, and their environments, across the five-hospital Estates portfolio.  

Alison Ryan

Alison Ryan, deputy Healthcare lead at Mott MacDonald, is a Chartered Engineer with over 20 years’ experience of hospital design work, project management, and delivery of many complex projects in the UK. She has been an IHEEM Council Member since 2019, is a former Chair of the IHEEM National Professional Development Committee (between 2013 and 2018), and former Chair of the IHEEM Yorkshire Branch (between 2011 and 2013). She is IHEEM President for 2022-2024.

Mike Cooke

Mike Cooke, MD – North & Scotland at Vital Energi Utilities, has 27 years’ experience working in the industry, strategically managing multi-project low carbon and renewable schemes and frameworks for both private and public sector clients. As a Board Director, he drives creativity and innovation, while ensuring quality and best value for customers. He has a proven track record of achievements supporting clients progress towards the Government’s Net Zero carbon target. 

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