Vital Energi's ground-breaking renewable community heating installation at Newcastle’s Riverside Dene Estate has been highly commended following a visit by senior officials from Government’s Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the funding providers for the scheme through their Low Carbon Infrastructure Fund.

This special visit follows on from the recent ‘switch-on’ of the innovative £1.7m wood fuelled community heating system that Vital Energi has successfully designed, supplied and installed both on-time, meeting critical deadlines imposed as part of the government funding commitments, and also on budget. The complete installation will help to reduce fuel poverty, deliver CO2 reductions savings and lower bills for the 400 residents of the estate.

Working with Newcastle City Council, Newcastle City Council’s Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) Your Homes Newcastle (YHN), Vital Energi’s wealth of expertise and knowledge in designing systems incorporating low and zero carbon technologies has helped shape the delivery and add value in terms of making suggestions to the client to improve the initial design resulting in substantial financing savings for the client, as well as future proofing the design to enable expansion of the scheme to incorporate the use of other forms of energy generation as the developments grows.

Vital Energi’s Contracts Director Steve Webster proudly showed off his engineering team’s work to both regional and central HCA officers which includes a new 700kW wood pellet fuelled energy centre together with fuel storage and fuel handling system supplemented by three highly-efficient stand-by gas-fired boilers. The installation also covers an underground pipe network distributing sustainable and affordable heating and hot water to the residents of the refurbished estate.  This sophisticated system uses Vital Energi’s highly efficient “Twin Pre-insulated Pipe System” which maximises operating efficiencies by reducing thermal heat losses from the buried pipework.

The biomass community heating system, fuelled using wood chips as the carbon neutral primary heat source, is now connected to the three of the tower blocks, removing the need for expensive electric storage heaters in each flat and paving the way for lower fuel bills for residents and reducing the carbon footprint of the development.

Pat Ritchie, North East Director for the Homes and Communities Agency comments "This is an important development which can show the way to a greener future for tower blocks in other areas. Together with the other improvements underway through the Council, this new system could eliminate more than three-quarters of carbon emissions from the blocks."

Tenants in the renovated blocks have already seen a reduction in heating charges, "It’s good for everyone in the long run," said local resident Dave Seargent. "We’re already feeling the benefit in my block as the heating charge has come down by £6 a week, and it’s good to know that the new system is cutting carbon emissions."

David Slater, Executive Director of Regeneration at Newcastle City Council states "We are one of the UK’s most sustainable cities and are proud to give local people heating that does not cost the earth."

Steve Webster Contracts Director at Vital Energi comments “Without doubt the success of this project is due to the open and trusting relationship between HCA, YNH, Newcastle City Council & Vital Energi that has enhanced over the life of the project. Communication has been key and is something that all parties have worked hard to establish and maintain which has been to the benefit of this project.  

The relationship is set to continue over the long term as Vital Energi will be carrying out the on-going operation, management, and maintenance of the heating infrastructure over the following ten years, as well taking complete responsibility for the biomass fuel supply for the next five years.