Contract Value:
£925,000
Timescale:
June 07 - Feb 09
Client:
Lochalsh & Skye HA
Royal Approval for Vital Energi Renewables.
Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal recently visited Vital Energi’s innovative biomass community heating scheme at the “Home Farm” housing development in Portree on the Isle of Skye.
“The key reason for embracing renewables as a social landlord is to help tackle fuel poverty, but reducing our carbon footprint is a massive bonus. The biomass scheme brings many benefits to the local community, not to mention the environmental improvements and costs savings we pass on to our residents.”
James Stephenson, Senior Development Officer, Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association
The Princess has a keen personal interest in renewable energy technologies and was pleased to see this example of carbon neutral technology in action. During her visit, Princess Anne also presented a set of keys to one of the new residents who will benefit from Vital Energi’s energy efficient technology. Vital Energi is honoured that the Princess has taken such a keen interest in its work.
“Home Farm” is owned and managed by Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association (LSHA). The Association has been a long-time advocate of renewable energy systems for their new housing developments. The Isle of Skye has no mains gas network but it does have significant low grade timber resources. A grant of £400,000 was provided by the Scottish Biomass Support Scheme for a wood-fuelled community heating scheme. Vital Energi was selected to design, supply and install the complete system, which will provide heating and hot water to 128 dwellings on the estate.
Vital Energi designed the whole system, based around a central, 550kW wood-fuelled boiler with a distribution network of above and below ground pre-insulated pipes. The entire energy centre installation was manufactured by Vital Energi at its production facility in Denmark and then delivered to site as packaged units so as to minimise disruption on the site.
The boiler uses locally produced wood chips as a carbon-neutral fuel source. The quality of the fuel is critical to the efficient operation of the system. Drawing on its extensive in-house expertise in biomass systems, Vital Energi advised the client and the wood fuel supplier on wood types and specifications as well as preparing annual fuel delivery schedule profiles. Vital Energi continues to provide random testing of wood chips to ensure that quality is maintained.
Each house has a Vital Aqua Varm™ hydraulic interface unit providing full control over flow rate, temperature, pressure and consumption. The Vital Energi EasyPay™ pre-payment system allows residents to purchase heat credits using swipe card technology. The EasyPay Card is topped up with heat credits purchased over the counter at a nearby petrol station. EasiPay™ benefits the housing association as it helps to eliminate fuel poverty. Residents like the system as they can spread the cost of purchasing fuel and can easily monitor their consumption of energy.
‘Home Farm’ is being constructed in five phases and, when complete, will consist of 169 affordable homes, increasing by 20% the number of occupied homes in Portree. The homes are available through a mix of private sale, low cost rental through the housing association or sale through a shared equity scheme to help people on low incomes get the keys to their own property.
Conclusion
By delivering a solution that provides reliable and affordable heating and hot water to homes whilst helping to protect the environment, this scheme fits in perfectly with LSHA’s ethos of providing environmentally friendly and cost effective homes for the communities it serves. The scheme is expected to result in carbon savings of over 1,000 tonnes per year. Furthermore, by using locally produced wood to heat the homes, road transport movements are reduced, further reducing carbon emissions, and additional employment is generated in the local forestry industry.
