Friday 30 October 2020

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council lands £6.5m of heat network funding

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council lands £6.5m of heat network funding

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council has successfully secured £6,591,000 of Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) grant funding to support the commercialisation and construction phases of a new heat network.

The council hopes the Solihull Town Centre Low Carbon Energy Network will drive progress on its journey to making its own operations carbon-neutral by 2030 and states it is working closely with the West Midlands Combined Authority towards meeting the region’s wider target of net-zero emissions by 2041.

The planned heat network will be made up of a 1.7MW Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP), a 1,560kW gas-fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine and auxiliary gas boilers - together, this equipment is expected to cut carbon emissions by 280,247 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).

Heating in Solihull currently accounts for approximately 400,000 tCO2e, roughly one-third of the town's total greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Innovative projects like this one in Solihull are helping the UK lead the way in driving down carbon emissions, and it’s great to see governments of all levels and local communities working together.

“The Government’s Heat Network Investment Project is allowing us to drive forward new low carbon technologies as we build back greener and work towards net zero emissions by 2050.”

The first phase of the scheme is expected to start producing heat towards the end of 2022.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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