A new £2.5 million project is set to use water source heat pumps to create power from Leeds and Liverpool Canal to heat homes and businesses.
The project, being developed by Peel NRE’s district heat network specialist Ener-Vate and built by Vital Energi, will see a heat pump installed within the Mersey Heat Energy Centre currently under construction at Peel Water’s Liverpool Waters at Princes Dock.
Peel NRE said the project will be a “major part of the city’s low-carbon energy infrastructure”.
Set to be operational by Winter 2024, the Mersey Heat Energy Centre will provide low-carbon heat for over a fifth of homes in Liverpool. The water source heat pump will support the Centre in this aim via a 6km district heating network.
The heat pump, currently being manufactured in Glasgow, measures 8m x 12m and is set to be delivered to the Mersey Heat Network Energy Centre in the Summer.
Andrew Wightman, pre-construction director at Vital Energi, highlighted the development’s importance, stating that it is a “major development which will have a real, positive impact on Liverpool’s future”.
He added: “We have seen, first hand, how effective large-scale water source heat pumps can be in decarbonising communities and are proud to be helping to bring another piece of Liverpool’s future green infrastructure to life, which will serve the people of Liverpool for decades to come.”
Government grants to bolster energy efficiency and decarbonised heat
The Home Upgrade Grant, launched in April 2023, will run until March 2025, and has seen similar funds allocated to different councils across England. This includes £10 million to both Liverpool and Manchester and £12 million to the Greater London Authority, all of which is intended to provide energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating.
The scheme coincides with another government programme to incentivise heat pumps. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), initially launched in May 2022, provides grants for heat pumps and biomass boilers.
As of October 2023, both ground and air source heat pump grants increased from £5,000 to £7,500, after which the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) reported a 57% uptick in applications.
In December 2023, an additional £1.5 billion was invested in the scheme, arguably as a result of the 2025 deadline being extended to 2028 in the Powering Up Britain announcement in March.