Picture: Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council has revealed how it will spend its £10.9m funding from BEIS’ Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund.
The council will explore the provision of heat pumps, thermal storage and battery storage powered by renewable energy.
The funding, which is £10,923,547.00 in total, includes:
- £1.6M to explore how renewable energy can power Hinksey Outdoor Swimming Pool using water source heat network
- £9.3M to explore how it can move key sites towards using heat pumps powered by locally generated renewable energy
The projects
Hinksey Outdoor Pool
The council will look at how Hinksey Pool can be powered using a local heat network consisting water source heat pumps and battery/thermal storage, powered by renewable energy.
It is one of the largest outdoor swimming pools in the south of England, with capacity for 1300 people and a pool bather level of 250 swimmers.
Heat pumps
The plan is to install heat pumps (replacing gas boilers) across up to five of the council’s big carbon emitting sites.
Initially, the council will look at how heat pumps can be used at:
- Leys Pools & Leisure Centre
- Oxford Ice Rink
- Oxford Town Hall
- Barton Leisure Centre
- Rose Hill Community Centre
There are also a proposal of investing in a large portion of a local solar farm, which will meet a significant part of the increased electrical demand arising from the shift away from burning gas for heating. Through this arrangement, green electricity could be provided to sites from remote PV.
The programme will also see the installation of thermal and battery energy storage at each site to maximise the effectiveness of the heat pump and solar PV approach.
The City Council has already set out a plan to become zero carbon across its own operations by 2030 and in the last five years it has reduced its carbon emissions by over 5% per year.
The reduction in the council’s carbon footprint has largely been through the installation of energy efficiency and conservation measures, including LED lighting upgrades, and an increase in the amount of electricity used by the council coming from renewable energy.
Councillor Tom Hayes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon Oxford, said: “This £10.9m boost will enable the City Council to make big savings in carbon and energy. It provides one-third of the funding needed to end our contribution to global warming by 2030. Hinksey Pools is on track to become an even better place to enjoy a dip, cutting its carbon footprint in half and doubling the enjoyment of visitors. Other sites will benefit from heat pumps replacing gas boilers, so that our citizens can directly enjoy the upgrades in the knowledge that they are meeting the climate crisis.”
