Solihull Town Centre Energy Network

Solihull Council is working with partners to develop an innovative and reliable district Energy Network that will deliver heat and hot water into the taps, radiators, and heating systems of connected buildings. This Energy Network will provide low carbon heat and power (electricity) to a range of public and private sector customers within Solihull town centre, including Council owned buildings, education campuses and commercial offices.

Following a competitive tendering process, Vital Energi Ltd have been selected as the contractor who will take this exciting project forward - building, operating and maintaining the new network. Vital Energi is a leading national player in the heat network and low carbon energy sector and has successfully delivered a range of exemplar, high-profile networks including Leeds PIPES and Mersey Heat.

Since its inception, the project has been supported by expert technical advisers from Sustainable Energy Ltd. They will continue to play a crucial role as the primary client engineer throughout the construction phase.

(Also known as ‘district energy network’)

A district energy network is a system for distributing heat and electricity from central generation plant to nearby buildings. Energy is generated from a centralised location and is distributed via underground pipes and cables to supply key public, community and private sector buildings. These schemes can deliver significant carbon savings while helping to reduce fuel bills and future-proof business and consumer energy needs.

The network has been designed, and will be operated, to maximise the use of renewable and low carbon sources of heat. Heat will be generated using renewable and low carbon energy sources, with gas boilers providing top up and back up heat supply.

Our Energy Centre will initially utilise a gas fuelled Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine and Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP), a renewable energy technology which can absorb heat from the air, even in winter months.Evaporator units mounted on the roof of the Energy Centre will draw air into the units which will be used to heat a refrigerant (a liquid with a very low boiling point). The refrigerant is then passed through to a series of heat pumps which transfer the heat to a water circuit. When needed, such as during extremely cold weather, heat can also be provided by back up gas boilers. The hot water is then distributed, under pressure, through a series of insulated pipes in the ground from the Energy Centre to each building on the network.  Within each building’s plant room, there will be one or more plate heat exchangers which will exchange the heat from the district heat network to the building’s heating systems such as radiators or air handling units.

The Air Source Heat Pumps will be mainly be powered by electricity generated by the CHP engine and the remaining electricity will be distributed to customers using a private wire network.

The Town Centre Energy Network will be the first of its kind in Solihull but could pave the way for similar projects around the borough. 

Initially, the phase 1 ‘heat’ network will connect to Council buildings within the town centre, as well as nearby education campuses.

It is intended that future phases will then connect other buildings in the town centre and also link to planned commercial developments. Initially there will be no residential connections; however this will continue to be planned for in future phases.

Some of the electricity generated by the CHP unit will be used to power the Air Source Heat Pumps and other power requirements at the Energy Centre e.g. lighting. The remainder will be distributed to a limited number of customers. Council buildings are set to benefit from this electricity.

For individual buildings, decarbonising heat is expensive and often disruptive to occupants. A town centre energy network enables existing buildings and new developments to benefit from centrally based low carbon heat generation with minimal disruption in a cost-effective manner that benefits from economies of scale.

The UK government’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCS) ambition to achieve this goal by 2041, supports the need to commence the transition of heat generation from fossil fuels to low carbon or renewable heat alternatives. The Council’s Net Zero Action Plan (NZAP), which is part of Solihull’s response to the Climate Emergency, supports progress against the targets of 2030 for the Council’s own emissions to be net zero and 2041 for the borough’s emissions as a whole.

The Energy Network will be a key element of the Council’s NZAP. It will support long term affordable and low carbon heat supply for existing town centre occupiers’ buildings and future development identified in the Solihull Town Centre Masterplan.

This project also brings environmental education opportunities to the town centre and builds pride in Solihull’s low carbon commitment.

Solihull Energy Ltd is a limited company set up and owned by Solihull Council. This independent energy services company (ESCo) will be responsible for managing individual contracts and customer agreements associated with the Town Centre Energy Network.

The company is overseen by a Board of Directors, made up of senior council officers, and reports to a Shareholder Panel comprised of elected councillors.

A huge amount of work has already gone into developing and testing the opportunity for an energy network in Solihull town centre. After completing both the Feasibility and Detailed Project Development stages of the project, a Full Business Case (FBC) has been approved and planning permission for the Energy Centre has been secured.

In July 2024 a Design Build Operate and Maintain (DBOM) contract was signed with Vital Energi Ltd and detailed design work is now underway. While the programme is still being finalised, work is expected to start later this Summer.

Funding for this project has come from a number of sources including Central Government, via their Heat Network Investment Project (HNIP) and Heat Network Delivery Unit (HNDU) funding programmes and from the WMCA. Addition financing has been provided as loan by the National Wealth Fund via their Local Authority function.

Underpinned by detailed financial modelling, the FBC forecasts that the project will be able to repay this borrowing over the lifetime of the scheme. With more customers expected to sign up as additional connection phases of the project are rolled out (each subject to further business case assessment), the rate of return is expected to further improve over time.

Following extensive consideration, the land adjacent to Tudor Grange Leisure Centre has been identified as the preferred location.  The location of the Energy Centre is critical to a successful energy network since it needs to be large enough to house all the equipment needed, whilst also being as close to all potential customers as possible to minimise the length of pipework required to connect each building.  We also recognise that this is a significant opportunity to offer educational opportunities and therefore the proximity to the College and University Centre and our schools is beneficial. 

While the exact route is yet to be determined a system of pipework will need to be laid from the new Energy Centre adjacent Tudor Grange Leisure Centre through the park, crossing the Alderbrook River to St Peter’s Catholic School, Tudor Grange Academy and Solihull College. As part of this initial phase the network will also need to extend across Prince’s Way and Homer Road towards the Core Library.

The timing for this work will need to be confirmed in line with the final project programme but Solihull Council will work with Vital Energi Ltd to ensure that the impact on park users is kept to a minimum and the route is reinstated to its original standard.

During the initial stage of the project, we constructed a test borehole to establish whether ground source heat could be utilised. The test borehole enabled us to assess what  groundwater flows could be available from the water-bearing rock (aquifer) beneath Tudor Grange Park. Unfortunately, the aquifer was deeper than geological records suggested and the number of boreholes and associated pumping cost meant the option was not viable.  Fortunately, we had also been investigating the use of air source heat pumps as an alternative.

As part of the detailed design of the energy centre a number of ecological appraisals have been undertaken and an arboricultural impact assessment completed.

While the installation of the Energy Network will require the removal of a number of trees, the proposed route for the network has been reviewed with officers from the Council’s forestry, ecology and public realm teams and has been mapped out to avoid and minimise the impact on trees wherever possible. The proposed route has been diverted in several key locations to prioritise the protection of more established trees and those with higher ecological value.

The impact of the removal of trees on council land will be mitigated by the planting of trees to the same ecological value as close as possible to the site, as approved by Solihull Council’s Forestry and Landscape teams. This is in line with the Council’s forestry operation procedures.

A detailed Tree Survey and Ecological Impact Assessment have been undertaken, and a Construction Environmental Management Plan will be produced by Vital Energi Ltd through detailed design for approval by Council officers.

We are expecting construction of the Energy Centre and the pipe and cable network to take a little over 16 months. Acting as our Design, Build, Operation and Maintenance Contractor undertaking these works, Vital Energi will ensure disruption during the construction process is kept to a minimum. They will be required to work in accordance with the limits set by Environmental Health, which will include hours of work and noise standards.

A series of environmental assessments, including noise and air quality monitoring, have been conducted at various locations close to the proposed Energy Centre. The design specification for the Energy Centre sets performance standards for noise and air quality, and plant equipment will be selected to ensure compliance with these standards. The Energy Centre building design also includes measures to reduce noise impact, including acoustic baffles on the roof. This will continue to be monitored throughout its operation.