It will heat all the new buildings around Temple Meads station
The giant hot water storage tank at the Vattenfall Heat Network centre next to Castle Park(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
An energy centre to provide heating and hot water to the Temple Meads and Temple Quarter area of Bristol has been proposed for a spot at the bottom of the hill below Totterdown.
The Bath Road Energy Centre will be a permanent location for a generating site as part of the city’s District Heat Network.
Moreover, the energy centre will be located on a triangle of land to the West of Bath Road, bordered by the Totterdown scarp hillside and the railway line.
The energy centre is being proposed by Vattenfall, the company owned by the Swedish state which is part of the Bristol City Leap.
As a result, Vattenfall is holding a public exhibition to explain the energy centre, and will be putting in a planning application in the summer.
This event will take place on Thursday, April 24, between 3pm and 8pm, at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel on Redcliffe Way.
“We’ll be there between 3pm and 8pm to share information, hear your feedback and take any questions,” a spokesperson said.
They added: “The Bath Road Energy Centre will be the second low carbon energy centre to supply heating and hot water to the Bristol heat network, with a specific focus on the Temple area where a new heat network is currently being installed.
“It will generate low carbon heat using air source heat pump technology.”
They further explained: “Vattenfall is working with Bristol City Leap, a world-first city-scale public and private sector partnership aimed at achieving carbon neutrality for the city’s energy infrastructure by 2030.
“As owners and operators of the Bristol heat network, Vattenfall is responsible for expanding the existing heat network, developing new network areas and energy centres, and ultimately interconnecting them to create a single Bristol heat network that serves buildings with low carbon, reliable heating and hot water at a fair price.”
Earlier this month, Bristol Live reported that Vattenfall was reviewing its operations in district heat networks around Europe, including in the UK.
However, while it is doing that, the Heat Network in Bristol is continuing to expand.
The main source for the hot water and heating comes from a heat transfer station using water from the Floating Harbour at Castle Park, and there is currently a temporary energy centre on a street in Bedminster that is the source of heating for the Bedminster Green developments.
Vattenfall says it will be expanding the heat network to provide heating and hot water to ‘the equivalent of 12,000 homes’ by 2030.