Leeds PIPES Network (Design) - Energy Centre & District Heating

The project was initially procured as two separate schemes, and as the winning tenderer for both, we were able to create a hybrid solution. We analysed the concept design created by the client's design team which initially consisted of two independent district heating networks with an energy centre at Cross Green containing equipment to utilise the waste steam from the RERF and with additional equipment to function as back-up, along with various satellite back up boiler houses along the networks.

We looked at the two proposals together to identify areas to generate greater network efficiency and financial savings.

Once under contract, we agreed design changes that combined the two networks into one singular network. This featured a main energy centre at Cross Green and a resilience energy centre at Saxton Gardens, taking away the need to include additional plant rooms. This reduced the capex of the project by 12.5%.

The quality scoring of the tender was at a ratio of 60% design and 40% pricing meaning that there was preference towards a strong design over price. A scoring ratio like this allows for higher quality designs to prevail, creating a more beneficial and reliable solution.

The Cross Green energy centre will act as the interface between the RERF and the heat network, and will convert the 20MW of steam from the RERF into low temperature hot water to supply the buildings, passing through the Saxton Gardens energy centre.

The Saxton Gardens energy centre will provide resilience to the network and has been sized to manage the peak 33MW of consumption along with space for future plant. As the location of this energy centre is further along the network than some of the future connections, we created a system to allow a back feed to serve these future zones should the Cross Green energy centre go offline.

We completed a load analysis of the minimum and peak energy demands to ensure the Saxton Gardens energy centre is fully equipped to manage the peak 35MW of consumption, and provide spare equipment should there be any failures/ The equipment includes four 11MW gas-fired boilers, two 750kW modular gas boilers, four expansion vessels, four distribution pumps and a 20m high multi-core chimney.

Our design has been developed using specialist collaborative 3D modelling or the two energy centres to identify and resolve any issues with the operation of the equipment prior to construction.

The Leeds PIPES scheme will connect 1,983 properties and businesses to a 16.5km network and is only the first phase of a potentially larger network.

It is designed to expand, through sizing the energy centre equipment to cater for additional loads and installing capped pipe ends to ease future extension. The first phase of district heating was completed with close liaison with the client and stakeholders to prevent disruption from road closures, with the network completed two months ahead of schedule. The network is currently expanding by 2.5km to connect some of the city’s iconic buildings.

The council has adopted an Local Development Order 3 (LDO), which gives district heating permitted development rights over certain parcels of council and partner owned land. We routed the pipework in LDO designated land to decrease timescales as planning permissions were not required. We completed ground radar and buried surveys which highlighted any areas to avoid, allowing us to design a pipework path that could be implemented as smoothly as possible.

We employed two dedicated Tenant Liaison Officers as points of contact for the residents to discuss the project.

These Officers ensured all the tenants are aware of the planned works, and assist with any queries or concerns to help construction run smoothly.

We held multiple consultation days for residents to help with their understanding of the scheme. We undertook individual surveys of each property to ensure the new internal heating systems would be compatible, increasing efficiencies and speed of system installations.

Giving back to the community is an important aspect of the project, and so we committed to invest a minimum of 72 hours of community engagement and investment into local initiatives.

We engaged with the local school when launching the project, holding a competition to name the scheme which was chosen as Leeds PIPES. We have invested in providing work experience for 8 local students, employing 6 apprentices, training and improving the skills of 5 local workers and hired 10 local workers on the project.

• ADE Awards – Contribution to Net Zero
• ADE Awards - Heat & Efficiency (Operational)
• Heating & Ventilation Awards - District Heating Project of the Year
• Heating & Ventilation Awards - HVAC Project of the Year