Rochdale Borough Council is launching a project to extract thermal energy from wastewater to heat local hospitals, schools, and homes. The system will use heat pumps and exchangers to provide 28GWh of low-carbon heating, reducing the town's reliance on individual boilers and gas.
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Sewer heat is a great resource but the real cost is in the piping. Digging up a town centre to lay a heat network is where these projects usually blow their budget. I want to see the actual cost per connection once the business case is done.
Agreed. Also, 28GWh is the target, but what is the expected COP for these pumps given the wastewater temperatures in Rochdale? If the efficiency is low, the electricity draw for the pumps might offset some of the carbon gains.
The Green Heat Network Fund is doing the heavy lifting here. It is interesting that they are tying this into a broader town regeneration plan. Usually, these projects fail when they are standalone, but integrating them into planned street works makes the economics work.
True, but the start date is 2029. That is a long way off. A lot can change in policy or funding before a shovel hits the ground.
