Veolia has called for more political willpower to get more homes heated by district heating from energy from wastefacilities in and around London.
The call for politicians to act came from the company’s UK and Northern Europe chief executive Estelle Brachlianoff at the opening of the capitals firstenergy from waste powered district heatingscheme last week (November 29).
A7 million investment by Veolia Environmental Serviceswill see the South East London Combined Heat and Power Plant (SELCHP) in Deptford supply excess heat and hot water to 2,500 homes in five council estates across Bermondsey and Southwark.
The project, supported by the Department of Energy & Climate Change, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Mayor of London, aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 8,000 tonnes a year and is expected to provide fixed energy rates for residents over the next 20 years.
Built in 1993, planners had previously struggled to find an outlet for the heat produced at the energy from waste facility until February 2008, when Veolia signed a 665 million PFI deal with Southwark council. Under the contract Veolia was requiredto provide excess heat from the facility for use in local homes (see letsrecycle.com story).
The London-based scheme joinsan existing district heating programme run by Veolia in and Sheffield.
Advancement
Speaking to letsrecycle.com at the launch, Southwark councillor Barrie Hargrove said: I think its a fantastic advancement. This facility has never produced heat for homes since it was built in 1993 and we are now able to heat five estates. Residents have been very excited and are happy that they are part of this process which is providing cheaper energy costs.
‘This is very much what we want to see more of in London, and after 20 years SELCHP is living up to its name. Its important to remember we are not taking recycling away for burning, we are doing this second to hitting our targets.’
Matthew Pencharz, GLA senior advisor for energy and environment
Senior advisor for energy and environment at the Greater London Authority (GLA), Matthew Pencharz added: This is very much what we want to see more of in London, and after 20 years SELCHP is living up to its name. Its important to remember we are not taking recycling away for burning, we are doing this second to hitting our targets.
The mayor is showing leadership in this matter and would like to see more development, its the start of a very exciting process of energy construction in London.
But, Veolias UK and Northern Europe executive vice-president Estelle Brachlianoff said while the SELCHP initiative was a positive step for heating schemes, the UK would need to see more political willpower and funding allocated for future projects.
She said: What I find exciting about this event today is its the circular economy in action. Here we are producing green calories from your black bag waste. Here in London, in a very open area, creating local energy makes sense. We will invest 1 billion in the UK over the next five years for projects of this type, including in Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Leeds.
If this is rolled out in the four EfWs in and around London we could power 260,000 homes in the city. There is an opportunity to roll this out on a wider scale but only if there is the political will.
Underground
Mr Pencharz said the GLA was currently looking at expanding the CHP heat network to include an extra 400 homes. Also, the GLA is exploring the possibility ofretro-fitting parts of the London Underground to extract waste heat for further use.
- In September, DECC offered grant funding of 6 million to local authorities in England and Wales to develop new and expand existing district heating networks using technologies that included EfW (see letsrecycle.com story).
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