Newark renewable energy firm lands £1m Scottish contract
A swimming pool is at the forefront of a renewable energy revolution which creates heat from waste water.
In the first project to be delivered by a new joint venture between Scottish Water Horizons and East Midlands-based SHARC Energy Systems and one of the first of its kind in the UK, Campbeltown’s Aqualibrium leisure centre will be heated by the use of groundbreaking technology which places a focus on sustainability.
The centre and swimming pool is operated by Argyll & Bute Council and the £1 million project will meet 95 per cent of the facility’s heating needs and use just 25 per cent of the energy it currently takes to heat it with gas.
Russ Burton, chief operating officer of Neark-based SHARC Energy Systems, said: “The Aqualibrium project is a significant step for the joint venture and SHARC, demonstrating how our technology provides a real, sustainable and renewable alternative heat service to customers in rural communities as well as urban centres.
“We have long thought that leisure centres are a great opportunity for SHARC and heat pump technology and we look forward to working with Argyll and Bute council to make this scheme as successful as our first installation at Borders College in Galashiels.”
The installation will intercept waste water from Scottish Water’s adjacent Kinloch Park Pumping Station. The technology will extract the naturally occurring residual heat, amplify it and transfer it to the clean water network to provide heating to the leisure centre.
The new heat recovery system will be integrated into the council’s existing heating infrastructure.
The low-carbon, sustainable and environmentally-friendly energy system will heat the 25-metre swimming pool, fitness suite, steam room, sauna and library in the centre.
Expected to be completed by November, Aqualibrium is the first project to be delivered by the new joint venture between Scottish Water Horizons, a subsidiary of Scottish Water, and sustainable energy firm SHARC Energy Systems. The joint venture was announced on March 20 2018 and aims to expand and accelerate waste water heat recovery systems across the country.
