OSLO (Reuters) – Swedish utility Vattenfall and American energy services company Ameresco have won a 20-year concession to operate and expand the heat network in Britain’s Bristol in a drive to cut emissions, Vattenfall said on Wednesday.
As part of the Bristol City Leap decarbonisation project, Vattenfall Heat UK will acquire existing heat network assets and invest in new ones, which will serve the equivalent of around 90,000 homes in the city, Vattenfall said.
Bristol city is planning to decarbonise its energy system by 2030 and the City Leap program aims to deliver lower energy costs, cleaner air, improved energy infrastructure and a boost to the local economy. In the first five years, Vattenfall expects to invest over 200 million pounds ($262.30 million) in the heat networks, the company said.
Working with local partners, Ameresco and Vattenfall also expect to deliver 424 million pounds in low-carbon energy infrastructure across heat networks, renewable energy, heat pumps, energy efficiency and electric vehicle charging.
This will bring a saving of 140,000 tonnes of carbon emissions and install 182 megawatt (MW) of zero-carbon energy generation, Vattenfall said.
Vattenfall has already announced plans to build a heat network in London.
($1 = 0.7625 pounds)
(Reporting by Nora Buli, Editing by Louise Heavens)
