Leeds Pipes, a heat network developed in partnership between Leeds City Council, Vital Energi and Ener-Vate, has been recognised as an international exemplar of a city-wide heating solution.
The heat network provides homes, businesses and public buildings in Leeds with low carbon heat and hot water using recycled heat from a nearby Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility. The Canadian-based Boltzmann Institute visited it as part of a “study tour” to aid Canada’s expansion of low-carbon energy infrastructure.
Established in 2018, the scheme’s current customers include Leeds Playhouse, Leeds Beckett University and St James’s University Hospital. The heat network connects over 2,300 homes and 28 key buildings across the city centre.
The project burns black bin waste that cannot be otherwise recycled and the steam that it creates is converted into hot water.
Mike Cooke, managing director of Vital Energi said: “The recognition for the scheme is a real reflection of the team’s dedication to innovation in the green transition, and to providing flexible, resilient and future-proofed energy schemes for our clients.”
Ener-Vate, Peel NRE’s district heat network specialist, has continued working with Vital Energi. In March of this year, the companies partnered on a £2.5 million project to use water source heat pumps to create power from Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Low carbon heating systems will be critical to achieving net zero; according to the National Audit Office, heating UK homes accounted for 18% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 (the most recent year for which data is available).
Recent research by the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) showed the Greater Manchester region could unlock £18.2 billion of new investment through a transition to heat networks. It suggests that heat networks alone could meet the majority of Greater Machester’s heat demand, requiring the installation of 4,839km of pipework by 2050.
Labour’s Great British Energy company is seeking to reduce Britain’s dependence on foreign gas. One way of reducing this, alongside renewable energy generation, will be the effective change to replace gas boilers.
Caroline Bragg, chief executive officer at the ADE, said: “ Heat network infrastructure is an enormous multibillion-pound opportunity for Great Britain, with a pipeline of projects exceeding £3 of private investment secured for every £1 of public funds. We look forward to working with Government on GB Energy for a new era of collaboration.”
Yesterday (25 July), Prime Minister Keir Starmer was pushed on his heating plans. He said: “I’m not going to tell people what to do with their boilers. This is not about bearing down on individuals, imposing a disproportionate burden on them. I don’t think that’s the way that we take anybody through a transition.”