LAWR

20 Local Authority Waste & Recycling March 2015 energy recovery Keeping it in the community: District heating in Exeter District heating is a comparatively new approach for most British local authorities, yet it is the primary means of providing domestic heat in northern Europe. Here, John Rigby explores the roll out of district heating in Exeter, the city's plans for its expansion and the challenges to be overcome. ommon throughout Scandinavia and Germany, district heating (DH) is still in its infancy in Britain. That's not to say that the likes of Aberdeen, Sheffield and Southampton haven't shown the way, but British DH schemes are still relatively few and far between. The recently recognised need to de-carbonise the generation of heat and electricity has spurred Government to promote DH and the market to respond. The Government launched 'The Future of Heating' in 2012 and adopted the strategy in 2013. DH is to provide 14% of UK heat by 2030 and 43% by 2050. Scandinavian countries would see this as a modest target but for the UK, with a very different institutional frame- work, it's a tall order. DECC has helped to kick start this work by establishing the Heat Network Delivery Unit (HNDU) with seed funding (a term that can be applied to any finance raised at the outset of a new venture to allow for development) of £9m, support- ing feasibility studies in more than 50 locations, with one of the largest grants (£184,000) being awarded to Exeter.A range of partners, working through the Exeter and East Devon Low Carbon Task Force, is planning to deliver DH across Exeter and the surrounding authorities. The first stage is operating, with an energy centre at Cranbrook, the new community near Exeter, now supplying 1,000 households and an adjacent busi- ness park. When the current phase is completed, heat will be supplied to 3,500 households from a gas-fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, which will develop over time to run on waste-wood biomass, delivering true zero-carbon housing. DH and CHP were not a natural first choice for the housebuilder consortium behind Cranbrook – indeed, there was significant resistance to begin with. But a determined local authority, grant aid from the Homes and Communities Agency and a high level of commitment from EON have turned views around. City-wide DH Plans for expansion of DH include advanced negotiations on a new 3,000 dwelling development at Monkerton, next to the Met Office's HQ. There are detailed plans for two fur- ther DH networks and the creation of a public-sector backed Energy Services Company. This involves the retrofit of a network linking major heat users in the city centre and serving an additional 2,500 homes in South West Exeter. This envisages a planned link to the new Devon County Council/Viridor energy-from-waste (EfW) plant which is fuelled by 60,000 tonnes of local domestic waste, potentially produc- ing up to 7.4MW of heat and 2.2MW of electricity.In the longer term, the part- ners see Exeter as a low-carbon city, powered by CHP, EfW and a range of renewables, representing a major shift towards decentralised energy production, coupled with a much better insulated domestic and building stock, but there are significant challenges to achieving these aspirations. First amongst the challenges is the still widespread perception that DH is novel and just for big cities. The vanguards network for UK cities implementing DH provides leadership and mutual support. It met in Exeter last December and del- egates saw that DH was a viable solution for smaller cities too. The second critical issue is the pre- dictability of the national policy frame- work. The previous Government made a clear commitment to true zero carbon for new build housing by 2016 – which became a key driver for DH. The current Government has re-defined zero carbon downwards, leading to greater scheme uncertainty. Finalising the 2016 zero- carbon commitment and introducing 'Allowable Solutions' are both crucial for investor confidence. A third factor is the need for long-term certainty on the RHI and pushing up the rate for EfW-sourced heat. Finally, local authorities need more clout to ensure DH is delivered in new developments. For major schemes with multiple landowners, the local authority has to 'hold the ring', but without an une- quivocal requirement for DH (currently not legal) one reluctant housebuilder can scupper a whole scheme. Is the 2050 target achievable? The prospects are good but only if the four challenges are addressed urgently. C District heating is to provide 14% of UK heat by 2030 and 43% by 2050. Left picture: photo of the site of the construction of Viridor and Devon County Council's energy-from-waste plant in Marsh Barton, Exeter. John Rigby is chair of the Exeter and East Devon Low Carbon Task Force.

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