Reading leads the charge to low carbon heating
| Sourced From Getreading |
Council tax payers in Reading could save money now Reading Borough Council has become the only local authority in Britain to benefit from £100,000 of funding to develop low-carbon heating.
Europe-funded energy programme GeoPower is working with governments, businesses and other organisations across the continent to encourage them to work together in partnership to introduce ground-source heat pumps.
The council has successfully bid to become the only partner in the UK to benefit and is one of 12 across eight countries – the UK, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Sweden, Estonia and Belgium.
The innovative low-carbon method uses constant heat which lies below the surface of the ground and captures, compresses and then distributes heat to buildings.
In the summer the process can be reversed so the heat can be taken from the building and put back into the grounds, achieving considerable carbon energy, energy and financial savings.
The low-carbon method of heating buildings has already been installed at school The Avenue Centre, a building at Prospect School in Tilehurst and some other council buildings in the borough.
RBC sustainability manager Ben Burfoot said: “This project gives us the opportunity to pave the way for using this technology in new and existing buildings in Reading, as well as enabling us to maximise the use of ground-source heat pumps nationally to provide the low-carbon heating systems of the future.”
In bidding for funding, RBC had to show it had some experience in renewable energy and was in a position to deliver its part of the project.
The council has set a target of reducing carbon emissions across the borough by 34 per cent by 2020 based on 1990 levels including halving its own output, and with a further aim of being carbon-free by 2050.
Over the next two years the council will play a leading role in the pioneering project that will eventually help cut carbon emissions across Britain and the continent.
RBC will work closely with the partnership to share technology and experiences of installing and using ground-source heat pumps.
The work will then be pulled together to set a plan for how more ground-source heat pumps could be installed across Europe and benefit from the Government’s new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) set to be announced next year.
RHI is intended to provide long-term support for renewable heat technologies from household solar thermal panels to industrial wood-pellet boilers through an £850m investment plan.
Warren Swaine, lead councillor for environment and sustainability, said: “Winning this bid shows our council is prepared to take a lead in developing a sustainable future, not just for Reading but for the rest of the country.”
Council tax payers in Reading could save money now Reading Borough Council has become the only local authority in Britain to benefit from £100,000 of funding to develop low-carbon heating.
Europe-funded energy programme GeoPower is working with governments, businesses and other organisations across the continent to encourage them to work together in partnership to introduce ground-source heat pumps.
The council has successfully bid to become the only partner in the UK to benefit and is one of 12 across eight countries – the UK, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Sweden, Estonia and Belgium.
The innovative low-carbon method uses constant heat which lies below the surface of the ground and captures, compresses and then distributes heat to buildings.
In the summer the process can be reversed so the heat can be taken from the building and put back into the grounds, achieving considerable carbon energy, energy and financial savings.
The low-carbon method of heating buildings has already been installed at school The Avenue Centre, a building at Prospect School in Tilehurst and some other council buildings in the borough.
RBC sustainability manager Ben Burfoot said: “This project gives us the opportunity to pave the way for using this technology in new and existing buildings in Reading, as well as enabling us to maximise the use of ground-source heat pumps nationally to provide the low-carbon heating systems of the future.”
In bidding for funding, RBC had to show it had some experience in renewable energy and was in a position to deliver its part of the project.
The council has set a target of reducing carbon emissions across the borough by 34 per cent by 2020 based on 1990 levels including halving its own output, and with a further aim of being carbon-free by 2050.
Over the next two years the council will play a leading role in the pioneering project that will eventually help cut carbon emissions across Britain and the continent.
RBC will work closely with the partnership to share technology and experiences of installing and using ground-source heat pumps.
The work will then be pulled together to set a plan for how more ground-source heat pumps could be installed across Europe and benefit from the Government’s new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) set to be announced next year.
RHI is intended to provide long-term support for renewable heat technologies from household solar thermal panels to industrial wood-pellet boilers through an £850m investment plan.
Warren Swaine, lead councillor for environment and sustainability, said: “Winning this bid shows our council is prepared to take a lead in developing a sustainable future, not just for Reading but for the rest of the country.”
