Manchester's civic quarter heat network
Construction work is underway on Manchester's £20 million Civic Quarter Heat Network, after the first pipe was ceremonially placed in the ground by Manchester City Council and Vital Energi.
The network will generate low-carbon heat and power for the city, helping Manchester to reach its ambitions to be carbon-neutral, climate resilient and zero waster by 2038. It will initially serve six landmark city centre buildings, including Manchester Town Hall, and has the potential to grow by connecting further buildings across the city centre in the future.
The scheme is projected to save more than 3,100 tonnes of carbon emissions in its first five years of operation and the energy centre will become event more efficient as additional buildings are connected.
The energy centre for the network will be constructed close to the Manchester Central Convention Centre and has been designed by award-winning architects, Tonkin Liu, incorporating five flues into a 'Tower of Light', which will become a sculptural landmark for the city and symbolic of Manchester's aspiration for low-carbon energy.
The scheme has been part-funded by a £2.87 million grant from the Government's Heat Network Investment Project (HNIP), with Manchester City Council being one of the first local authorities to receive this funding.
Work on the Civic Quarter Heat Network project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020. Manchester City Council's Executive Member for the Environment, Planning and Transport, Cllr Angeliki Stogia, said ' The Civic Quarter Heat Network will provide a highly efficient source of heat and power for some of Manchester's most iconic buildings, make significant carbon reductions and contribute towards the city's shared goal of becoming zero carbon by 2038.'
Ashley Mailn, Project Development Director at Vital Energi, said, 'We are delighted to be working with Manchester City Council to deliver what will be a major step forward for their energy generation plans. As well as reducing carbon emissions in the city, the scheme has been designed to have positive effects on the city's air quality. We look forward to playing our part in the delivery of low-carbon power and heat to some of Manchester's most iconic buildings'.