Major milestone for District Heat Network

Crawley Borough Council has reached a major milestone in plans to bring cheaper, greener energy to the town centre.

Construction has begun on the new energy centre and is due for completion in February 2022.

This forms phase one of the project and will consist of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, which produces affordable heat and hot water for connected local residents and businesses. This will be built on the redeveloped Town Hall site.

Once completed, 310 residential properties including homes at John Brackpool Court and the A2Dominion development on The Boulevard, the Town Hall residential development and the new Town Hall, will connect to the energy centre during the first phase of the project, saving 350 tonnes of carbon.

The scheme has been designed to enable a further 700 homes to connect to the energy centre, including new homes at Bridgefield House which have been built to be DHN ready. There are opportunities for Crawley College, Crawley Police Station and future developments on the county buildings site to join as well, saving more than 1,500 tonnes of carbon per year.

The council will also explore the introduction of newer, greener technology as part of the phase two plans.

In compliance with the council’s local plan, the DHN will help significantly reduce energy and carbon emissions for both the council and the residents and businesses connecting to it, as generating heat centrally and distributing it through the heat network is more efficient than individual gas boilers. The CHP plant will additionally allow any waste heat to be captured and used to generate electricity for the new Town Hall.