Case study: Barking Power Station
Peter North is Head of Decentralised Energy Delivery for the London Development Agency.
Peter is leading a visionary project that has the potential to provide up to 150,000 homes and properties along the Thames Gateway with low carbon heat for their hot water space heat requirements. The project is based on a new district heating network linked to the existing Barking Power Station and possibly the power station’s proposed new extension.
Reviewing the potential for heat capture
In 2004, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham investigated the potential of capturing the heat from the power station to use in its local housing stock. Major power stations produce large amounts of heat as a by-product of electricity generation and by 2005 the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, the GLA, the LDA and the London Energy Partnership jointly reviewed the performance of the power station.
The review established that it was 40% efficient and that 400MW of low grade heat was discharged into the Thames. A study by consultants Parsons Brinkerhoff suggested that there was potential to put this surplus heat to use.
Peter joined the LDA in September 2007 having worked for 10 years with the energy engineering consultants Pöyry Energy. During his time at Pöyry, Peter carried out study work for the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham on options for low carbon energy supply for the redevelopments in and around Barking Town Centre. This work contemplated the incorporation of a future low carbon heat supply from Barking Power Station. Peter and his team carried out calculations of future energy demand profiles, the technical design of district heating network options, alternative energy supply arrangements and the carbon and financial modelling of the preferred options.
Developing the project
On joining the LDA, Peter set about resurrecting the previous work with a view to delivering a project to deliver substantial carbon savings by recovering surplus heat from Barking Power Station and distributing the low carbon heat to homes and properties throughout the Thames Gateway. Peter now manages this project on behalf of DCLG (Department of Communities and Local Government) project and its steering group that comprises other local government organisations and Barking Power Station.
The plan is to up-grade the existing plant and build a heat transmission network – a flow and return pipeline running east and west from the power station, which would initially supply the heating requirements of up to 40,000 homes and properties saving 35,000 tonnes of CO2 output each year. Given favourable financial conditions, the first customers could be supplied by 2010.
Benefits of the project
One of the long term benefits of the project would be its scalability; once established, new housing developments in the Thames Gateway could be ‘plugged’ into the main at ‘nodes’ – with local distribution networks taking the hot water supply to customers – at relatively competitive costs. Over time, a fully-fledged ‘heat network’ would evolve, linking other heat suppliers with new and existing heat users such as hospitals and schools with housing estates.
This initiative to convert Barking Power Station to operate as a CHP plant is more than just an engineering challenge: it is being seen as a test-bed for a new energy policy. Many favour de-centralising centralised power production because of the inefficient use of the primary fuel and the costs and losses of distributing electricity over large distances. Locally generated power – and recovered heat to supply substantial heat loads – works well in densely populated urban areas.
Current electricity regulations effectively discourage new local CHP projects looking to supply more than 1000 homes by requiring them to have an extremely burdensome electricity supply licence. Peter and his team are supporting colleagues within the LDA to work with the regulator, OFGEM, on a proposal for a ‘junior’ electricity supply licence. Combined with the emergence of area-wide district heating network infrastructure, such as the Barking Power heat transmission network, the widespread use of local CHP – with its attendant cost and CO2 savings – could be far more viable.