Networks.Coop Heat My Street
Funded Project: Description
This project aims to accelerate the transition to net zero by achieving measurable and lasting reductions in the carbon intensity of domestic energy (particularly heating), building capacity to develop low carbon heating projects, and unlocking development of low carbon renewables in constrained areas.
A key barrier to low carbon heat networks and community energy schemes is viability – often potential sites for renewable energy lack sufficient load, or are faced with grid constraints, and low carbon heat networks cannot provide affordable heat to end users because electricity is 3x price of gas – which makes the final cost of energy higher for households. Small data centres can solve both these challenges by providing a baseload for local renewables and supplying low cost waste heat to local homes and community buildings.
The project will support residents and community energy groups to revisit plans for low carbon ambient heat networks and renewable energy generation. They aim to model the inclusion of modular data centres (size of a shipping container) ranging from 80 to 500kW, and carry out feasibility studies to develop a set of template designs reflecting the constraints. The project will open a pipeline of sites for investment and contribute to the decarbonisation of heating in 20 communities, saving 300 tCO2e per year.