Following on from its award winning installation of a biomass energy system at Glenshellach in Oban, Scotland, Vital Energi has picked up a further six major biomass contracts in Northern Ireland, Gloucestershire and Scotland .
In a three-year project, the green energy supplier has been instructed to deliver a £2million biomass district heating system servicing 358 homes at the Woodbrook eco-village at Brokerstown near Lisburn, County Antrim.
On completion, the scheme for Belfast-based developer the Carvill Group, will feature four wood-burning boilers at the edge of the site, delivering hot water to each home. Wood chips to run the boilers will be produced from willow currently being grown by local farmers.
As the only green energy supplier in the UK currently able to offer a fully integrated service from design through to installation, servicing and maintenance solely through its in-house resources, Vital Energi was selected to work with the Carvill Group after the developer visited its work on the Glenshellach district heating scheme. The affordable housing development near Oban received the Scottish Green Energy Award for ‘Best Renewables Project’ on completion.
Gerry Redmond, group technical director for the Carvill Group comments: “At Carvill we continue in the development of brownfield sites and the delivery of eco-homes. The Woodbrook Development is the next step in our commitment to delivering sustainable communities some of which may be fuelled by a carbon neutral energy source. The scheme is ambitious and has been ten years in the planning, so it was essential that we work with an energy partner who can provide us with genuine experience and knowledge to deliver the most appropriate solution for the site. Working with Vital Energi, we’ve arrived at a solution that will not only deliver an important benchmark for the future of housebuilding, but will also boost the local economy by encouraging local farmers to diversify into the production of willow to power the boilers.”
Brendan Clancy, business development manager for Vital Energi comments: “Unlike other areas of the UK where there is a requirement under local planning guidelines to incorporate a percentage of renewables within the energy supply, there is no such requirement in Brokerstown. We are very lucky therefore to be working with a client with the foresight to make a commitment to renewable energy and invest in the technology up front. ”
The first properties on the Woodbrook development are due for completion in the summer of 2008. Meanwhile, Vital Energi has also been appointed as preferred contractor to deliver a woodchip district heating system as part of a £150million regeneration project in Dursley, Gloucestershire. The contract includes the installation, servicing and maintenance of the system, in addition to a requirement to source an ongoing woodfuel supply to heat 450 homes and an industrial area at the Littlecombe project, which is a joint venture between the South West Regional Development Agency and St Modwen Development Ltd. Due for completion in 2011, homes and business premises at the project will feature solar panels and rainwater harvesting alongside biomass heating. The aim is for Littlecombe to be the largest sustainable community in the UK.
And in Scotland, a further four contracts are already moving ahead; two of which are based on the Isle of Skye. The Home Farm biomass community heating scheme is a new residential development owned by Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association. Phases two to five of the rented and shared ownership project (comprising 128 homes in total) will be serviced by a central biomass district heating system. Also in Skye is the Sabhal Mor Ostaig (SMO) College, for which Vital Energi is installing a wood chip boiler system to heat current and new campus buildings.
On the Scottish mainland Vital Energi is installing a further two district heating schemes, to supply heat and hot water to 71 homes in total. The schemes, comprising 31 homes at Lasswade Road for Dunedin and Canmore Housing Association in Edinburgh and a further 40 (with the potential for another 162) at the Hill of Banchory for Bancon Homes are currently on site. Lasswade Road is nearing completion and the Hill of Banchory is due to complete by late 2008.
Brendan Clancy comments: “Vital Energi has been successfully delivering biomass district heating schemes for several years now and it’s fantastic that our expertise and knowledge are being employed on six of the most significant eco-homes projects currently underway in the UK.”