Midlothian 'green' energy project will massively reduce carbon footprint
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.
Midlothian Council has paired by with Swedish state energy firm Vattenfall to bring a district heating energy centre to the county.
The centre, which was initially planned to be built alongside the new Shawfair education campus, is now being considered for Millerhill, where it will sit beside its recycling and energy recovery centre(RERC) which will provide fuel for the heating network.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe local authority was asked to rule on whether the proposed centre, which will be built in woodlands next to Millerhill Marshalling Yard would need an environmental impact assessment before a planning application could be considered.
READ MORE: Health officials investigate alleged 'abuse' at Midlothian care home devastated by covid-19 deaths
Although the proposed building is described as 12 metres high and 50m by 38m in size, and will require pipes to travel alongside woodlands to Shawfair, the council ruled it did not require the assessment.
A report on behalf of Vattenfall a said: “The proposed development site is located in woodland noted on the Native Woodland Inventory which will be cleared for building works, informed by a Tree Survey and retaining existing trees where possible.”
Midlothian Council has signed up to a 40-year deal to provide heating after hailing its potential to reduce CO2 emissions.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe main source of energy is expected to come from the recycling centre however a back up boiler will be in place in case of disruption to the supply.
The report said “the back-up boiler is to be electric-powered and required less than 876 hours per year, only during periods of maintenance or outage from the RERC facility.”
The local authority said that the district heating network is expected to save “over 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking 1,200 cars off the road”.
Midlothian Council said the network project involved a £20 million investment with up to £7.3million coming from the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transformation Programme.
A message from the Editor:
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.
If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.