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Green upgrade for council’s Thorpe Lane depot
26/05/2022
The work is part of a project with an overall budget of £5.2 million
Cherwell District Council’s Thorpe Lane waste and recycling depot in Banbury has been refitted with air source heat pumps and innovative batteries as part of a project to slash the council’s carbon emissions. The project involves eight of the authority’s buildings.
The depot’s new air source heat pumps are part of a completely new heating installation, which included new radiators and pipework. The system virtually eliminates the use of gas.
An air source heat pump works similarly to a fridge but instead of taking heat from within a closed compartment and depositing it outside, they take heat from the atmosphere and put it into a building’s heating system.
The new battery technology harnesses the electricity generated by existing solar panels to provide free power even when the sun is not shining brightly. This additional power can be drawn on when demand is high, doubling the overall capacity at the depot.
Councillor Dan Sames, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said: “We are taking the climate emergency and our commitment to be a zero-carbon council by 2030 seriously. We are utilising part of our government grant to install carbon busting technology at our waste and recycling depot as part of our programme to eliminate 25 per cent of our carbon emissions by the end of the year.
“We had already adopted solar panels in 2011, way before the climate emergency was declared, as we have always striven to be a green council. The addition of innovative battery technology means we are able to double electric capacity at the site to future proof it and allow us to make the move to an all-electric fleet.
“Air source heat pumps are another critical piece of green infrastructure, drawing heat from the wider atmosphere and using it to heat the buildings. That represents a big carbon saving.”
The project has an overall budget of £5.2 million, paid for by a Public Sector Decarbonisation Grant from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Across the council’s sites the investment is projected to save 1,075 tonnes of so-called greenhouse gas emissions every year and is projected to save over £180,000 in energy and other utility-related costs.
Cllr Sames added: “The heat pumps and batteries represent a big development in themselves, but they are just the start of a series of improvements at the Thorpe Lane depot. Over the summer we will be designing and installing a new electrical substation and ducting infrastructure, capable of supporting an entire fleet of electric vehicles.
“The technology for electric-powered bin lorries and other large vehicles may not be with us quite yet. But with this significant investment we are set to be ready to adopt more electric vehicles as soon as it is practical to do so both for the environment and the taxpayer.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam