New £53m scheme will help Peterborough become ‘one of first carbon zero cities of the future’

A new £15 million energy scheme will help Peterborough become ‘one of the first carbon-zero cities of the future,’ it has been claimed.

The PIRI project in Peterborough is one of the first national schemes to receive support from the Green Heat Network Fund.

Series of pipes and cables will take energy to big consumers

Once complete, it will transport heat and electrical power from the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) operated by Viridor in Fengate (owned by Peterborough City Council) direct to the city buildings via a series of underground pipes and cables. The ERF generates its own energy by taking non-recyclable household waste that would otherwise go into landfill and using a combustion process turns it into heat and electricity.

A total of £14.5million of funding has just been released by the Government to turn the project into a reality. Of this, just over £900,000 will pay for further project work to prove the effectiveness of the scheme in order to secure inward investment. A further £13.5million has been pledged to help pay for the construction costs.

It is expected that the total construction costs for the project will be around £53million with the remaining money expected to come from inward investment.

"We will be well on the way to becoming one of the first carbon-zero cities of the future”

Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald, leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “Peterborough is ready for a project of this size and thanks to this Government funding we will be well on the way to becoming one of the first carbon-zero cities of the future. It is yet another significant indicator of the confidence that the Government has in our city’s growth and its importance on the national stage.”

PIRI will be delivered in an initial two phases. Phase one will create the underground pipework and cables needed to deliver heat and power to key businesses in the Fengate area which is closest to the ERF. Phase two will deliver heat to key businesses and public buildings in the city centre.

These buildings have been chosen as they are big consumers of energy. It’s anticipated that, once complete, the PIRI project will reduce the carbon consumption of these buildings by as much as 92-per-cent.

Ken Hunnisett from Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management has said: “It’s a joy to reflect that the first awards from this exciting new fund are being made to progressive city councils at the start of their own respective journeys to the city-wide decarbonisation of their heating infrastructure.”

"This is a hugely exciting project for Peterborough”

Dr Nik Johnson, mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, said: “This is a hugely exciting project for Peterborough with the capabilities to greatly reduce carbon consumption and make huge steps towards Peterborough City becoming net zero by 2030. In line with recommendations from the Independent Commission on Climate, to effectively manage climate risk for our communities and adapt to climate change, mitigation and adaptation must go hand in hand. One is cutting carbon emissions to reduce the long-term impacts of climate change and the other is ensuring our communities are resilient to the climate impacts we are currently experiencing."