Companies to work together to harness heat from waste to energy facilities
Efforts to tackle one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of the UK's net zero ambitions moved forward this week, as two leading players in the waste and energy industries joined forces to accelerate the roll out of district heating systems.
Vattenfall and Viridor announced they are to work together to reduce emissions from heating in homes and commercial buildings by linking heat networks to energy recovery facilities (ERFs).
Waste management firm Viridor operates ERFs across the UK, which recover energy from residual waste that cannot be recycled, thereby minimising the quantity that is sent to landfill. Low carbon heating provider Vattenfall is now aiming to work with Viridor to capture heat from these energy recovery facilities, and deliver it through pipes to homes and businesses in the area, providing low carbon and affordable heat. The firms argue that by recycling waste collected from a community into clean heat for that same community they can create a closed-loop energy system.
Viridor operates a fleet of ERFs across the UK, including plants near areas of urban regeneration, providing opportunities for new-build and existing properties to be served by district heating networks in the coming years, the firm explained.
"To reach net zero the UK has to crack the problem of emissions from heat, which currently make up one third of the UK's total emissions," said Noah Nkonge, head of partnerships at Vattenfall Heat UK. "Working together with Viridor, we're looking to bring all the right people and organisations to the table so we can reduce emissions and provide reliable, affordable heating for homes and businesses in cities across the country."
The partnership was welcomed by the Energy and Clean Growth Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, who said "heat networks are playing a vital role in decarbonising the way we warm our homes and businesses".
"The UK continues to lead the way in transitioning to a future with net zero carbon emissions and I'm delighted to see Vattenfall and Viridor working together to deliver innovative, low carbon heating," Kwarteng added.