People in Torry are invited to attend a drop-in event tomorrow which will explain how a new district heating network works and how they can sign up to the scheme.
The Torry Heat Network event will have City Council officers attending, along with the main contractor Vital Energi, Aberdeen Heat and Power which operates the heat networks in the city, and Scarf which delivers energy efficiency advice to households and helps with heat poverty.
The £25million Torry Heat Network will supply heat for the three high-rises at Morven Court, Brimmond Court, and Grampian Court as well as homes in Balnagask Circle, Farquhar Road, Tullos Place, Mansefield Road, Loirston Place Girdlestone Place, Glenbervie Road, Abbey Place, Victoria Road, North Balnagask Road, Pentland Close, Balnagask Avenue, Balnagask Crescent and Balnagask Wynd. Deeside Family Centre, Provost Hogg Court, Balnagask House, Tullos Primary School, Torry social work office and the new Torry Community Hub will also be served by the scheme.
The heat will be supplied by the energy from waste plant which is being constructed in East Tullos industrial estate to dispose of non-recyclable waste from Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils, and the district heating network work includes a heat distribution facility which is located in the former waste transfer station building beside the energy from waste site.
As well as work to streets to install the more than 5.7 miles of underground pipes, the Torry Heat Network project also includes new internal installations, heat metering, and heat supply pipes to the interior of the buildings.
Aberdeen City Council Net Zero, Environment and Transport Vice Convener Councillor Miranda Radley said: “We’d urge people in Torry to go along to the drop-in event to find out more.”
The underground main distribution pipes and the heat distribution facility are now ready to become operational and it is planned that the first homes, Tullos Primary School and Swimming Pool, and Torry Community Hub will be changed over to the new heating system in the coming months.
It is expected the work will finish late 2025, depending on weather and availability of materials world-wide. The project is to receive more than £11million of grant funding from the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Programme.
Currently, the Phase 1 heat network is being tested and commissioned and the next stage is preparing to start the Phase 2 network construction and the heating changeover works in the first flats. In total, more than 800 households are to be offered the opportunity to have their heating changed over before the end of 2025.
The changeover in people’s homes will involve replacing existing gas boilers with a new heat interface unit and then connecting this to the existing radiators and hot water systems. New pipework into the property will also be installed.
The Torry Heat Network public drop-in event is being held at Tullos Community Centre’s coffee bar on Thursday 15 June from 5.30pm to 8.30pm.