St Luke's Hopsital, schools and homes to be added to Bradford's heat network in £9m boost
For the past few years work has been underway to develop a low carbon heat network in Bradford city centre.
ST Luke’s Hospital, several schools and hundreds of homes are set to benefit from a £9m expansion of Bradford’s new clean heat network.
For the past few years work has been underway to develop a low carbon heat network in Bradford city centre.
Powered by a huge array of air source heat pumps at an energy plant of Thornton Road, the network will provide heat to buildings like Bradford City Hall and buildings in Bradford College and the University of Bradford once it goes live.
Today (Wednesday) Government has announced an additional £9m funding for the network that will allow it to expand to heat more buildings in the city.
These include St Luke’s Hospital and 255 homes, as well as seven schools and colleges in the South of the city, providing cleaner heating and lower bills.
Heat networks are a way of heating multiple buildings from a central source via a network of pipes carrying hot water which provide communities with low-cost and efficient heat.
The Government announcement says the £9 million grant will extend the existing Bradford Energy Network to supply businesses, homes and public buildings with low-cost, low carbon heating.
The project is one of five in England to receive a share of over £78 million to develop new low-carbon heat networks.
Minister for Local Energy and Jobs Martin McCluskey said: “Clean power and clean heat benefits communities across our country. Building the infrastructure to deliver it is reindustrialising the UK and rolling out cutting-edge energy technology so families can benefit from lower bills, good jobs and energy security.
“And for those already using heat networks, we are upgrading inefficient systems to make sure people get the high-quality, low-cost, reliable heating they deserve.”
Residents on existing heat networks across Yorkshire will also benefit from lower bills and less waste, thanks to upgrades to heat networks in Bradford, Leeds and York.
Upgrades will include replacing leaky pipes, insulating pipework to reduce heat loss and replacing interface units in homes.
Bradford based social housing provider Incommunities will receive £103,764 from this fund.
The £75m heat network, run by 1 Energy, has been developed through a mix of private investment and Government grants.
The underground pipes that transport the heat across the city were laid ahead of the recent pedestrianisation of Bradford city centre.
They are already linked to the University of Bradford Campus, Bradford College’s buildings, Bradford Crown Court, Bradford Magistrates Court, and Bradford City Hall.