Wastewater is helping to meet almost 100% of a Scottish campus’s heat needs following investment from the Green Investment Bank.
As part of the UK’s first SHARC energy recovery system, sewage is now being used to power a heating system at the Scottish Borders Campus in the Scottish Borders.
Backed by investment from Equitix and the UK Green Investment Bank, the SHARC heat recovery system intercepts wastewater from a sewer close to the local treatment works operated by utility Scottish Water.
The system uses a heat pump to amplify the natural warmth of wastewater and the heat produced is being sold to Borders College under a 20-year purchase agreement.
The system now provides around 95% of the heat needed by the Galashiels campus and does not impact on the normal operation of the local wastewater network.
The SHARC Energy Systems wastewater technology system uses clog-proof raw sewage filtration system and Heat Exchange technology that conducts the heat from untreated wastewater.
It was announced in June 2015 that SHARC Energy Systems had secured a £4 million investment from Equitix and the UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) to finance the installation of the SHARC sewage heat recovery system under heat purchase agreements.
Alan Scott, finance director of Scottish Water, said: “With 32,000 miles of sewer pipes throughout Scotland, we’re exploring the potential for this approach to be replicated at other locations, offering further environmental and heating cost benefits.”
Lord Smith of Kelvin, chair of the Green Investment Bank, said: “If the UK is to achieve its demanding targets for carbon reduction we must do more to improve the sustainability of the energy we use to produce heat. This project shows us how to do that.”
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