Green house gas pollution in the UK is driven by three areas of the economy; transport, food and heat. Making buildings more energy efficient through insulation and draft proofing is a good way to reduce energy use, but new sources of energy for the remaining heating requirements will be needed as we realise the opportunities of a net-zero economy.
Darlington Council’s Climate Change Working Group, Chaired my Cllr Matthew Snedker, has been scrutinising the opportunities for providing a low-carbon heat network for the town centre, extending as far as the Memorial Hospital.
The first proposal aimed to used a water sourced heat pump, based on the river Skerne. However, more detailed modelling showed that insufficient water flow in the summer months meant the heating and cooling load would not be deliverable.
The current plan on the table is with SSE[1] and is an air sourced system, which has a greater capacity for expansion in the future.
The heat network would supply consistent heating water to a number of commercial properties with hard to decarbonise heat requirements. Initial plans are looking to include the Town Hall, Dolphin Centre, government officers, hospital, university and college buildings. There is an aspiration that the project would also be capable of supplying mixed use developments in the town, as well as future mixed-use developments.