Teignbridge backs vision for ‘green’ heating scheme

Teignbridge District Council is exploring the idea of linking a part of the district up to a new ‘green’ local energy system.

The Council’s Executive yesterday resolved to support a project exploring a heat network which could provide power for up to 2,000 new homes and businesses while helping to stabilise energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.

Teignbridge will now work closely with a task force made up of neighbouring local authorities and partners to look at a business case for the district, how it would work and funding options.

Heat networks, often referred to as district heating schemes, supply heat from a central source directly to homes and businesses through a highly insulated network of underground pipes carrying hot water. This means that individual homes and businesses do not need to generate their own heat on site. There is already one operating at Cranbrook, a new development in East Devon.

Heat networks can be supplied with heat from a range of sources including Energy from Waste plant, much like the one being built in Marsh Barton, Exeter.

The edge of South West Exeter is proposed for future development in Teignbridge’s Submission Local Plan. The blueprint, commonly known as Plan Teignbridge, also contains policies aimed at reducing overall carbon emissions across the district, including opportunities of using heat from an energy-to-waste plant at Marsh Barton, Exeter.

Cllr Kevin Lake, Teignbridge District Council’s Executive Spokesperson for Environmental Services, said: "This is a really important project because it will give us a greater understanding in how any district energy network will benefit residents and businesses through reduced energy costs and carbon efficiencies.

“At the same time more work is needed so we can work out what our role would be in it. We need to explore all the options first to look at the risks and benefits. A further report will come back to Executive when a business case has been prepared and investigated.

“We’ve always been a really pro-active authority in looking at ways to save energy and reduce carbon emissions – which directly benefits residents with reduced bills and helps the environment – so this is quite an exciting scheme and we are pleased to be part of it.”

A District Heating Group has been set up to look at the full range of implications and benefits. The Group is made up of Teignbridge, Exeter City Council, Devon County Council, Exeter and East Devon Growth Point, the University of Exeter, the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust Foundation, the Heart of Devon Local Enterprise Partnership and the Growth Point Low Carbon Task Force.

Teignbridge will support this project with officer time and has been advised to sign a formal agreement with the other study partners committing them to take forward the recommendations of the study.

The next steps towards building a system will be to produce a business case, consider private sector interest, explore any funding opportunities and the structure of any energy service company that may be set up to operate the scheme.