Leading supplier, installer and maintenance provider for power generation solutions Edina, has been awarded the contract to supply and install a 2MWe gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant at one of the largest new-build district heating schemes in the UK at Cranbrook Energy Centre.
Cranbrook, a newly developed town in east Devon, north of Exeter Airport, has its own Energy Centre located on the £120 million Skypark Business Park.
Energy solutions provider E.ON was appointed by the Exeter and East Devon Growth Point to design and build the Energy Centre and associated district heating network following approval for the scheme in 2011. The £20 million Energy Centre currently houses a 550kWe CHP plant which sits at the heart of the new development. The CHP plant generates and supplies low carbon heat and hot water to homes, commercial premises and community and leisure spaces across both the community of Cranbrook and Skypark business development.
East Devon District Council approved plans for the Energy Centre, which will help ensure that CO2 emissions are significantly reduced across both developments and help both Cranbrook and Skypark reach higher standards of sustainability in line with both government targets and the transition of the southwest to a low carbon economy.
E.ON awarded the CHP contract to Edina which included the full turnkey solution to design, engineer, project manage and commission the 2MWe rated MWM manufactured reciprocating gas engine.
The natural gas fuelled MWM TCG 2020 V20 will accompany the Energy Centre’s existing 550kWe gas engine to produce heat and hot water.
MWM gas engines offer market leading efficiency, reliability, flexibility and environmental sustainability, providing low lifecycle and high profitability. Edina is also the official MWM distributor in the UK and Ireland.
The CHP plant supplied and installed by Edina will be containerised within an attenuated acoustic enclosure at Edina’s on-site manufacturing facility based in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, and will comply with noise level restrictions and all health and safety regulations.
The low carbon heat source will change as the developments grow, with gas-fired boilers being supplemented by gas-fired CHP, and later by biomass fuelled CHP. Alongside the lower carbon heating solution, renewable microgeneration technologies such as solar and heat pumps have been added to the Cranbrook and Skypark properties to test ways to meet low carbon targets in the future.
Cranbrook’s district heating network will transport heat generated from the energy centre’s CHP plant to homes and buildings, initially consisting of 2,900 residential properties, rising to up to 6,551 properties by 2027. The heat network will provide an affordable supply of heating and hot water on demand, removing the need for individual property boilers, eliminating maintenance or replacement costs.
A decentralised energy approach will provide greater security of power supply and provide an opportunity to export power back to the grid used for income generation. It is anticipated that the scheme will reduce CO2 emissions by 13,000 tonnes per year.
The 2MWe CHP engine will be commissioned and made operational in 2018.
If you are looking to take control of your energy needs and produce power close to the point of use, we would love to hear about your project requirements and help power your future. If you would like to discuss your project, please contact us.
