Solihull Council start work on town centre energy network

Solihull Council have announced a partnership with Vital Energi to bring an affordable new source of low carbon heating to the town centre.

Heating is responsible for around a third of the UK’s carbon emissions but rather than tackle the problem one building at a time, Solihull Council are tackling the problem at source.

Vital Energi  have been brought on board to execute the project, fresh from having their PIPES network in Leeds named ‘Energy Project of the Year’ in the residential category at the Energy Awards in London last month.

The Solihul energy network will generate low carbon heat and electricity from a single energy centre and distribute it directly into town centre buildings via a system of underground pipes and cables. The Energy Centre will be built on land next to Tudor Grange Leisure Centre and will house a range of renewable and low carbon energy solutions including Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP).

The first phase of the project will to provide provide heat and power to public and private sector customers, including Council-owned buildings, with future phases bringing other town centre buildings into the network.

Councillor Andy Mackiewicz, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Planning said: ‘I’m really excited to have Vital on board. They bring a wealth of experience operating complex commercial schemes like this and have a proven track record of delivery.

‘A huge amount of hard work has already gone in to developing this project and with Vital’s help we can finally get it over the line and bring the benefit of affordable, reliable low carbon energy to Solihull town centre customers, while contributing to an overall reduction in the borough’s carbon emissions.

‘The town centre energy network will be the first of its kind in Solihull and will hopefully pave the way for similar projects around the borough.’

Gemma Dyson, Pre-Construction Director, Vital Energi, said: ‘We’re delighted to be partnering with Solihull Council to deliver this Low Carbon Energy Network. We’ve worked closely with the Council throughout the initial project stages, and now we’re really looking forward to continuing with our collaborative approach to deliver an energy network that makes significant strides in reducing the borough’s carbon emissions.’

The project has been supported by expert technical advisers from Sustainable Energy Ltd who will continue to play a crucial role as the primary client engineer throughout the construction phase.

Chrissy Woodman, Director of Sustainable Energy Ltd, said: ‘We are thrilled to bring our district energy technical expertise to the next phase of this exciting project and to continue collaborating with the exceptional team at Solihull Council. This project represents a significant step forward in the Council’s decarbonisation plans for the Borough, and we are proud to be part of it.’

Funding for the project was provided by the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) and West Midlands Combined Authority alongside the Council’s own investment in the project. 

Early works have already taken place with a series of site investigations and ecological surveys having been undertaken in March. Work is expected to begin later this summer with the first customers benefitting from the network as early as next year.

Picture (l to r): Adrien Grubb (Senior Consulting Engineer at SEL) Gemma Dyson (Pre-Construction Director at Vital Energi), Councillor Andy Mackiewicz, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Planning, Solihull Council

Image: Vital Energi