Council in £113m District Heat Network Deal

Source: Public Sector Energy / Words: Jamie Hailstone

As part of the £113m Deal, the Stoke-on-Trent District Heat Network will be established. The Network will be funded by £20m from the Government and £32m from local sources.

The Network will produce up to 45 GWh a year, save 10,000 tonnes of CO2 and lower energy costs by up to 10%. It will also support more than 200 jobs directly and is the first carbon heat network system of this scale in the country.C

“We’re giving Stoke-on-Trent the freedom, power and tools to be really innovative and design whole new ways of building a stronger economy and fairer society,” said Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.

“Next generation heat and energy really does give the area one foot in the future. This City Deal puts power in the hands of local people who know best what skills are needed in the area to give it a real chance of changing the fortunes of thousands of people across Staffordshire.”

The Deal will also help establish the Smart Energy Network project at Keele University, which will test new lower-carbon energy sources. This project will receive £5m from the Government, £5m from the European Union and the same amount from the University itself.

Michael Feliks, UK Operations Manager at Cluff Geothermal and Chair of the REA’s Deep Geothermal Sector Group, said: “It is fantastic to see the Government seizing the potential of geothermal heat networks to cut costs and carbon for UK cities.

“The Government has engaged closely with industry to support geothermal in the Renewable Heat Incentive and this sector is set for growth. We hope this sets a path for other cities to follow and we continue to engage with Government to break down the barriers to geothermal energy in the UK.”

Jamie Hailstone is a freelance journalist and author, specializing in local government, transport and energy issues.