16:15 22^nd February 2012

SHEAP secure £3.6m for groundbreaking wind to heat district energy expansion

UKDEA members Shetland Heat and Power (SHEAP) have had funding confirmed by Shetland Charitable Trust to allow them to expand their Lerwick district heating scheme to a further 330 properties.

The expansion is being made possible through the adoption of Wind to Heat, a UK first for this type of technology. In collaboration with power company SSE, SHEAP will be able to expand the coverage of their award winning district heating scheme beyond the 1,000 homes and 100 non domestic properties currently served.

The scheme currently uses heat from the local waste to energy plant’s incinerator to heat water and has reached capacity. SHEAP has a growing backlog of potential customers wanting to connect to the system.

Now, in a UK first, SHEAP intends to proceed with the Wind to Heat project, using energy from wind turbines to heat water in a huge kettle-like thermal store. This will allow an extra 300 homes and 30 non-domestic properties to sign up, meeting some of the demand to get away from oil-fired and electric heating.

The trust is confident the project will pay for itself and provide a return for its investment to help fund the various organisations it supports through its £11m annual budget.

SHEAP hopes to build the capacity thermal store in the grounds of Lerwick power station this year, ready for use next winter. It will take a further two years to complete the 330 new connections.

The project still hinges on planning permission being granted for the project. A decision is expected shortly following a public consultation, which has resulted in no outstanding objections.

Further information is available on the Shetland Times website.