In 2012, Cube Housing Association joined forces with Scottish Gas, Scottish & Southern Energy and Vital Energi to deliver a £27 million project designed to improve the energy efficiency of 1900 homes.
Vital Energi is helping to reduce fuel poverty in Scotland with its involvement in an innovative multi-million pound scheme to provide low-cost, energy efficient heating and hot water to up to 1900 tenants of Cube Housing Association on the Wyndford Estate in the Maryhill District of Glasgow.
In partnership with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), Vital Energi is responsible for the detailed design and delivery of a new community energy system – one of the largest of its kind in the UK.
At the heart of the £27 million Wyndford scheme is a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine, three gas boilers and a thermal store, housed in a new Energy Centre at the edge of the estate, and a network of highly insulated district heating pipes all of which are being designed, supplied and installed by Blackburn and London-based sustainable energy specialist, Vital Energi. The work is due for completion by the end of 2012.
Vital Energi and SSE were chosen by Cube Housing Association for their partnership approach and because their proposal included individual pre-payment meters in each property which will help tenants control their energy consumption and reduce their bills.
Vital Energi, in partnership with SSE, assisted Cube Housing Association from the start of the project providing operations appraisal and business case advice on revenues available from sales and funding or incentive initiatives.
At the core of the pioneering Wyndford scheme is Vital Energi’s bespoke Energy Centre which comprises a 1200 kW CHP engine and a thermal store with a capacity of 120,000 litres. Three 4500kW gas boilers provide back-up and peak load heat requirements.
The electricity generated by the CHP engine will be exported to the local grid. The CHP system takes away the need for each home to have an individual boiler making it an affordable and energy-efficient way of heating homes.
