Bishop’s Castle Community Heat Network
After over 3 years of effort, a planning application for the erection of a 1MW wind turbine just outside Bishop’s Castle has been submitted to Shropshire Council. Most of the power generated by the wind turbine will be used by large air source heat pumps, the output from which will be pumped around the town, supplying heating and hot water to the Community College, the SpArC Leisure Centre and swimming pool, and to approximately 100 houses and businesses. There will also be some photovoltaic panels and large thermal storage tanks. The heat pumps will turn each unit of energy from the wind into 2 or 3 units of heat. Any surplus electricity can be sold to SpArC or exported to the grid.
The project is being led by Shropshire & Telford Community Energy and Lightfoot Enterprises, a local environmental charity. Mike Watkins of Lightfoot states that ‘This is a huge step forward in this project and we look forward to the committee granting us planning permission in the spring. We have had three well-attended public meetings about the project and participated in many other events, and have been encouraged by the overwhelming support we have received’.
As well as a substantial reduction in the town’s high carbon footprint arising from the use of oil and LPG for heating, the Community Ownership model will ensure the people of Bishop’s Castle benefit financially, with protection provided against future price shocks.
The Bishop’s Castle Town Council gave unanimous support for the project to be included in the local Place Plan and the project has been supported financially by the Government’s Community Energy Fund.
Mike Watkins added ‘Work is also continuing on developing the Heat Network proposal, an application for further resources to the Green Heat Network Fund will be submitted in early 2025, and further planning applications for the Energy Centre and some photovoltaic panels will be submitted in late 2025. All this wouldn’t have been possible without Shropshire and Telford Community Energy and the main consultants Sharenergy and Carbon Alternatives.
The planning application, Reference no. 25/00177/FUL can be accessed here: https://pa.shropshire.gov.uk/online-applications/
For further information contact Dave Green dave@sharenergy.coop
More details can be found at Heat Network – Lightfoot Enterprises
