Leeds is demonstrating the future of low carbon heating to the rest of the UK, according to Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance.
He has visited the city to see the extension to its PIPES heart network, to which principal contractor Vital Energi four new buildings are preparing to connect.
New plans for two major extensions to the award-winning network—which would enable dozens more buildings to connect—have also been published by the local authority and discussed by senior members.
The scheme has been supported by £5.4 million of government funding to date, and the council and its principal contractor Vital Energi were delighted to host Lord Callanan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance), to visit the network on Thursday (3rd August) to learn more about how the flagship scheme is transforming the city.
The Minister visited several landmarks and connections on the network including the Recycling & Energy Recovery Facility, Cross Green Energy centre and St James’s Hospital— where he met members from the NHS Estates and Facilities team.
By using heat and energy recovered from non-recyclable waste at the Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility to provide warmth and hot water to buildings in the city, the Leeds PIPES district heating project is helping businesses and residents to move away from costly fossil-fuel powered heating systems.
The council estimates that the network is helping existing customers to collectively save nearly half a million pounds in reduced energy costs this year alone.
The £62 million network continues to expand and is regularly connecting to new buildings. Leeds Combined Court Centre and Leeds Magistrates’ Court were the latest buildings to take heat from the scheme earlier this year.
Last year, the network of insulated underground pipes supplied 22,029 megawatt-hours of heating in total and helped reduce the city’s carbon footprint by 3,975 tonnes.
The four latest buildings, including the first private-sector residential developers, which have confirmed their intention to connect to the network within the next 12 months are:
- Spinner’s Yard around Mabgate, developed by Rise Homes
- Leonardo and Thoresby buildings on Gt George Street, developed by McLaren on behalf of Arrow Leonardo
- The redevelopment of Leeds Technology Campus on Cookridge Street, developed by Metropolitan & District Securities
- Leeds Conservatoire on Quarry Hill
Separately, senior councillors have recently approved an application for up to £20 million of grant funding that, if successful, would enable two major new extensions to the existing network.
The first new extension would see another 600m (0.4 miles) of pipes laid from Little Queen Street to Wellington Street. A second new extension, located in the South Bank of the city centre, would see approximately 7 km (4.3 miles) of low carbon heat network installed from Clarence Road to Sweet Street and eventually connecting to the existing Leeds PIPES infrastructure. Subject to funding and final approval, construction of the extensions could begin as soon as 2024 with works completing in 2026.
Mike Cooke, Vital Energi’s MD (North and Scotland), said: “It was a great to show Lord Callanan around the network, but the buildings and energy centres are only part of the story. By meeting some of the residents and non-domestic connections, the positive impact of this project were evident. We believe it is a scheme which sets the standards for what major cities can achieve and look forward to working with Leeds City Council on Leeds PIPES’ continued expansion.”
