Sheffield secures multi-million pound funding for clean energy project

More than £5m of Government funding has been secured for Sheffield to help connect the Blackburn Meadows biomass plant, built on the site for the former Tinsley Towers, to the district energy network which powers public buildings across the city.

The money invested into Sheffield’s heating network will bring the potential for it to be expanded to areas such as the Retail Quarter and the Northern General Hospital, with the aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improved air quality in the city.

This is the largest amount of money to be given to any individual project as part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP).

Cllr Bryan Lodge, cabinet member for the Environment at Sheffield City Council, said: “This is great news for Sheffield. Expanding our innovative district energy network by linking it to additional renewable and sustainable energy sources will in turn lead to lower carbon dioxide emissions, not just because people will be using renewable energy rather than gas boilers, but also because using local fuel resources minimises any emissions generated from transportation.

“The existing district energy network, powered by the Bernard Road energy recovery facility, is near to capacity. However, by expanding to include the biomass plant at Blackburn Meadows, this creates more expansion opportunities to the north and east of Sheffield, therefore creating significant opportunities to increase the reach of district heating.”

Climate change and industry minister Nick Hurd said: “This Government is committed to ensuring a clean, secure and affordable energy supply for communities and businesses across the country.
“Energy innovations like heat networks can cut costs for households and reduce carbon emissions, as almost half of the energy we use goes towards heating our homes and buildings.

“The £5.7m in Government funding awarded to this project will help deliver low carbon energy at competitive prices for local consumers in Sheffield.”

Sheffield’s bid for part of the cash pot came about as council officers considered, as part of the review of Sheffield’s waste services, how the existing district energy network could be developed.

At the same time, E.ON, which owns and operates the biomass power plant at Blackburn Meadows and a district energy network in the Lower Don Valley, was also considering the opportunities presented by the HNIP programme, and approached the city council with a view to bidding for funding together.

A proposal was then developed for a project that can deliver low-cost, low-carbon heat from the E.ON plant into the Sheffield City Council energy network, allowing that network to expand and potentially be connected to sites such as the Sheffield Retail Quarter and the Northern General Hospital in future.

All funding will come from the HNIP programme and from E.ON’s own resources, with no costs to be met by the council.

Construction could begin as early as July this year, with phase one of the scheme being completed in March 2018.

The scheme is subject to formal approval from the council in order to draw down the funds, and signed formal agreements with E.ON.