Metropolitan has been contracted to adopt and operate, for 25 years, the district heat network serving three phases of the Hallsville Quarter development. The company has taken over the existing heat network and energy centre serving the first two phases of the development and is working with the developer, Linkcity, on the designs for future phases.
Development: Hallsville Quarter, Canning Town, London
Customer: Linkcity
Sector: Residential, Leisure and Retail
Utilities: Heat
Transforming a town centre
Hallsville Quarter is part of the £3.7billion Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration Programme being undertaken by the London Borough of Newham. The new £600million town centre being created is expected to act as a catalyst to transform the surrounding area of east London.
The scheme will provide:
The whole scheme is scheduled to be completed by 2024.
As a first step, Metropolitan has ‘adopted’ the existing heat network and energy centre which serves the first two phases of the development. The adoption of district energy networks is a common practice where the original developer decides to bring in external expertise to deliver the most efficient running of the network over the long-term. Metropolitan has extensive experience in designing and operating networks, for example, at the prestigious King’s Cross development, St. Andrews Park, Uxbridge and the Greenwich Millennium Village.
This project demonstrates the flexibility of district energy as a heat solution: networks can be adopted, extended, and reconfigured, and heat sources changed, as and when required. Metropolitan is now working with Linkcity on the designs for future phases, including the replacement of the small CHP engine now in service, with a much larger and more carbon-efficient 1.2MW CHP engine.
Metropolitan’s input at Hallsville Quarter demonstrates how expert engineering and creative design can achieve significantly enhanced performance for existing heat networks. For the third phase of the development, specifying the optimum pipe sizes for the network and reducing costs with leading-edge design will result in lower carbon emissions, operational efficiencies and ultimately reduce customers’ tariffs.
In addition, the upgraded energy centre will help Hallsville Quarter meet the zero-carbon development requirements in the London Plan, which promotes Lean, Clean and Green development. Greater London Authority (GLA) building regulations stipulate that the target for both domestic and non-domestic developments in London is for a 35% carbon-emission reduction. At Hallsville Quarter, Metropolitan’s redesigned network will exceed that ambitious target.
Metropolitan will be involved in operating the heat network at Hallsville Quarter for the next 25 years at least. It will therefore continue to have an interest in the success of the development, managing the customers’ needs, and operating the heat network as efficiently as possible long after the construction phases have been completed.
“Reaching contract signature within a few months of selecting the preferred bidder, following a comprehensive procurement process, demonstrates the strength of the working relationships on both sides and bodes well for the collaboration required for the design, delivery and operation of current and future phases at Hallsville Quarter, to the satisfaction of all its stakeholders.”
Axel Boutrolle, Managing Director, Linkcity