Plans for new Kingston district heating network gather pace
Kingston Council is working with borough based organisations to establish a new system to decarbonise heat supplies to homes and businesses.
In June 2019 the council declared a Climate Emergency with a commitment to making council operations carbon neutral by 2038 and supporting the borough to reduce carbon emissions.
Heating buildings by burning natural gas is recognised as a major source of carbon dioxide emissions and is something the council are keen to tackle.
A district heating system is a greener alternative, taking energy (released as heat) from a number of energy sources such as waste heat from industrial processes, and supplying this low carbon heat directly to homes, businesses and public buildings.
This year, the council successfully secured public funding from the Greater London Authority and the Government to investigate extracting and utilising the waste water heat discharged into the Hogsmill River from the Thames Water Waste Water Treatment works. Thames Water supported the Council applications for funding.
The feasibility study has shown that the scheme is technically viable and a detailed project design is now underway which will support further applications for funding to progress to commercialisation and construction.
The current plan is for the network to connect and supply heat to the new Cambridge Road Estate and nearby public buildings, with the ambition of growing the network to cover Kingston town centre including the Guildhall site and the Kingfisher Leisure Centre site.
The council, with support of key strategic public sector stakeholders, is applying for part of the capital from a Government fund which supports district heating network projects. The results should be known early next year.
Councillor Hilary Gander, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainable Transport said,
“We have bold ambitions for the future of our borough, and a district heating system of this scale is predicted to provide the largest single carbon-reduction measure in the borough over the course of the next decade.
We are now working closely with Government and local partners to ensure we are successful in the next stage of this exciting project towards delivering a truly green and sustainable energy source for our residents both now and for future generations.”
To find out more about the work the council is doing to tackle the climate emergency visit: www.kingston.gov.uk/climate-change.