Shetland Heat & Power

Lerwick District Heating Scheme

Executive Summary

Vital Energi oversaw the task of connecting Shetland Heat & Power's Waste to Energy scheme to over 800 homes and 100 commercial buildings via 30km of district heating pipe.

  • stats-numerical
    £6.5m contract value
  • energy-distribution
    30km of district heating installed
  • reducing-carbon
    7,000 tonnes of carbon reduction per annum
  • home-house
    800 homes served

Project Overview

Britain’s most northerly town, Lerwick is at the forefront of environmentally responsible energy provision. It enjoys its own advanced Waste to Energy (WTE) plant which provides heat and electricity to many of the area’s 8,000 inhabitants.

Crucial to this venture’s success however was the design, specification and implementation of an effective and dynamic distribution system. It was here that Vital Energi was able to help. As further evidence of the project’s innovative approach, it won the coveted Environment Award for Engineers 2000. This £6.5 million project has since become a benchmark against which many future CHP and District Energy schemes will be measured.

Our Solution

Lerwick Energy Centre 2 835X474

The large scale application of our full service capabilities and extensive experience. Connecting the WTE plant to the end-user was no simple task. However thanks to our full service capabilities and our extensive experience, Vital Energi was able to realise this demanding brief - from design of the proposed solution, through to its eventual delivery.

We began by designing in detail a Peak Load Boiler Station, which included its own pump station and a 2MW and a 6.5MW boilers. We then went on to oversee the construction, testing and bringing on-line of this advanced and highly functional facility. We also put in place the connection between this and the incinerator, and established the necessary cooling systems.

Solution detail

Demand for connections to the Lerwick District Heating Scheme has been greater than we ever envisaged. With a turnover of £1m per year from the sale of heat, it is estimated that some £2m remains in the Shetland economy that would otherwise be spent on imported oil. We are now one of the most successful schemes in the UK and often have people from Britain and Europe visiting our scheme because of the environmental, social and economic benefits it continues to provide.

Neville Martin, Shetland Heat Energy and Power

Key Benefits

Lerwick District Heating Scheme

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