Bristol Mayor Approves £5m Low-carbon Heating Scheme

Article published in the Guardian.

New low-carbon heating network is first stage of a plan to transform Bristol into a carbon-neutral city by 2050, reports BusinessGreen.

Bristol’s newly elected mayor, Marvin Rees, has approved the city’s first major step towards becoming carbon neutral by 2050, giving the go-ahead for £5m in capital funding to build a low-carbon district heating network to serve the city.

The first phase of the heat network, which was approved earlier this week, will supply low-carbon heat to buildings throughout Bristol via a network of underground pipes connected to a number of energy centres, including biomass boilers and gas combined heat and power plants. Over time the city plans to phase out the use of natural gas in favour of renewable alternatives.

“One of my campaign promises was to put Bristol on course to run entirely on renewable energy by 2050,” Mayor Rees said in a statement. “Without a city-wide heat network this target will not be possible, particularly in a city with a historic centre, where solar and wind technologies are not always an option for technical or financial reasons.”

District heating networks are seen as one of the most efficient ways to heat homes in urban areas. However, less than 2% of UK heat is currently supplied through heat networks – a figure government will need to substantially increase to meet the UK’s 2020 EU renewable energy targets.

The Bristol network will be built in phases, and eventually will feed heat to all parts of the city. Pipework will be laid as part of ongoing infrastructure projects, such as the city’s Metrobus expansion. A spokeswoman for the council said the £5m funding was for the first phase of development in the city centre, but the ultimate ambition is to connect as much of the city as possible to the system.

Meanwhile, work began last year on the first stage, with biomass-fuelled heat centres currently being built to supply businesses and social housing tenants in the Redcliffe area of the city.

“This is a major infrastructure project that will connect parts of the city over a number of years and which will deliver substantial benefits to the environment, residents and businesses in Bristol,” Mayor Rees added. “In the meantime, we are already delivering low carbon, stable and fairly priced heat to council tenants, many of whom are currently living in fuel poverty, which is a cause that’s very close to my heart.”

Under current planning laws, all new building developments in Bristol within a designated “heat priority area” are required to connect to a heat network or be “district heating ready” unless technically unviable. Therefore, the new network scheme is also expected to significantly improve the green credentials of new developments in the city.