District heating and decarbonisation in London
How does a local authority heat and cool its neighbourhoods at the same time as reducing its CO2 emissions?
It’s a challenge facing many councils, and district heating can be one of the solutions.
Future of London’s major 2020 programme, Achieving Net Zero, is exploring how housing, regeneration, infrastructure and economic development will have to adapt in order to deliver the Net Zero ambition. As part of this programme, FoL will take you on ‘a video visit’ of Bunhill 2 Energy Centre, in LB Islington, and discuss how both this project and new Green Smart Community Integrated Energy Systems (GreenSCIES) project are helping the borough decarbonise.
The Bunhill 2 Energy Centre is the first of its kind in the world. Started through the CELSISUS project, it provides a blueprint for decarbonising heat in potential future schemes in London and around the world, reducing heating bills and carbon emissions while improving air quality and making cities more self-sufficient in energy.
The new energy centre stands on the site of the former City Road Underground station. The disused station has been transformed to house a huge underground fan which extracts warm air from the Northern line tunnels below. The warm air is used to heat water that is then pumped to buildings in the neighbourhood through a new 1.5km network of underground pipes.
We’ll explore some of the key features of the district heating scheme, discuss why it’s an example of good practice in London and find out more about how LB Islington is expanding its heat networks with GreenSCIES.
Speakers include:
- Rodrigo Matabuena, Energy Capital Projects Manager, LB Islington
- Catarina Marques, Research Fellow on Smart Energy, London South Bank University (invited)
- Lucy Padfield, Director, Ramboll (invited)
For more information about the Bunhill 2 Energy Centre please read the following Celsius Toolbox articles: