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Plymouth Heat Network Zoning

Plymouth, UK

º£½ÇÊÓƵ is playing a key role in the decarbonisation of Plymouth’s heating. More than a decade ago, Plymouth City Council (PCC) became a leader in decarbonisation, by creating the conditions for district heat networks across the city to facilitate inward investment, reduce the carbon emission impact of the city, and tackle fuel poverty.

º£½ÇÊÓƵ has been working with PCC since 2014, developing and supporting the city’s heat decarbonisation plan. This has included city studies, which have input into local planning policy as well as discrete feasibility studies and project development works. We have been successful in helping to qualify Plymouth as one of the UK’s Advanced Zoning Programme projects and supporting the procurement of a long term delivery partner to realise the >£400m project across the city.

Plymouth City Council has pledged to make the city carbon neutral by 2030.

º£½ÇÊÓƵ is proposing an innovative approach that enables both district heating and district cooling connections.

This integrated approach to heating and cooling enhances climate resilience while promoting the effective use of waste heat.

A potential source of waste heat originating from the processing operations at the South West Water wastewater treatment plant has been identified.

Challenge

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is facilitating the development of heat network infrastructure to grow to 20% of national heat by 2050. This is being achieved through a combination of zoning policy development, targeted funding, and legislative support. These measures help de-risk projects, attract investment, and introduce regulation into the heat sector via Ofgem.

Plymouth City Council has identified heat decarbonisation as a key part of its net zero journey. Our energy team experts have become a trusted advisor to the council, working with them on a range of discrete projects focused on the decarbonisation of specific PCC assets, as well as helping to shape the wider strategic vision for district heat network zoning across the city.

Plymouth’s ambition to decarbonise is bold and comes with significant challenges, particularly in the decarbonisation of heat. Heating accounts for 26% of the city’s emissions and transitioning away from gas boilers to low-carbon alternatives is a complex endeavour.

Heat networks, which distribute thermal energy from source to multiple buildings, are a key part of Plymouth’s strategy. These systems can be highly efficient and are well-suited to dense urban areas, but their rollout requires significant infrastructure investment, long-term planning, and support to deliver. A rapid scaling of the networks is necessary, as well as successful engagement with stakeholders around the city to ensure adoption of the new technologies

Our teams and partners continue to support PCC to accelerate decarbonisation and drive investment into low-carbon technologies in the city. This will include the procurement of a development partner to support delivery of heat networks in the city.

Our latest work has involved the development of the Reference Scheme, forming part of a Green Heat Network Fund application and supporting the procurement of a zonal delivery partner who will be responsible for delivering heat networks in the city in line with national heat network zoning policy.

Solution

We have developed a city-wide heat strategy based around the availability of waste heat sources and demands in response to the national zoning policy and advanced zoning projects. The proposed solution focuses on two zonal areas, integrating existing projects across the city.

Low-carbon heating and cooling within the city centre is proposed to be supplied by heat offtake from a South West Water wastewater treatment plant. This innovative system uses a 5th generation low temperature backbone to supply low grade heat into the town centre, where local heat clusters, and 5th generation connections can be made. This will provide both heating and cooling to the city centre area, key civic buildings, and the University campus.

High temperature heat offtake from an existing energy from waste incinerator can support the Devonport Dockyard and the immediate area in Barne Barton.

An energy sharing system is proposed surrounding Derriford Hospital, designed to recover heat from the hospital incinerator and waste heat from cooling systems. This recovered energy will be shared with the surrounding science park, university, leisure centres and new developments.

More recently, our experts have helped identify the geographic areas or zones where policy will actively support the transition to low-carbon heating through heat networks. In some cases, buildings of sufficient scale may be required to connect to heat networks when existing boilers reach the end of their life, provided it can be demonstrated that doing so is a competitive proposition.

We are proposing an innovative approach that will enable both heating and cooling connections. This builds adaptable climate change resilience in the city to meet predicted future temperature rises, as well as supporting the capacity to fully utilise waste heat such as process heat from a waste water treatment plant within the city’s infrastructure, therefore supporting energy security.

Value

In March 2019, at a meeting of the City Council, councillors unanimously voted to declare a Climate Emergency, making the pledge to make Plymouth carbon neutral by 2030. This spirit of collaboration has continued through cross-party working on the climate emergency ever since. This pledge recognises the need for urgent and accelerated action.

We have been a long-standing and trusted partner to Plymouth City Council, supporting their transition by helping to develop projects and secure public funding through Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and Green Heat Network Fund awards, enabling the delivery of low-carbon, affordable heat in the city. Our collaboration spans all aspects of Environmental, Social, and Governance, helping to drive social and governance transformation alongside tangible environmental benefits. Through this partnership, we aim to provide Plymouth with long-term support in achieving its goals.