Solar panels and water pumps across Gateshead could heat more than 1,000 homes, two schools, and several public buildings by 2030.
The Gateshead Energy Company, following a government grant of £5.9m, is close to completing a six-megawatt mine water heat pump at the Shearlings Road depot. The firm has also created three boreholes in the Baltic Quarter where 140 litres of mine water can be extracted, heated, and converted into energy.
Two solar parks, one near the Baltic and another adjacent to Gateshead stadium, are also nearing completion thanks to £3m of government grants. Once combined and both operational they will generate 3.6 megawatts for public buildings.
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Owing to these developments GEC is now looking to expand its operations and reach. The Old Ford and Nest House estates, comprising 550 homes and two schools, may be connected to these carbon-friendlier energy sources.
The new proposed Chandless estate, consisting of 485 homes, has also been earmarked as somewhere to be connected to the new energy network by 2030.
However, according to council documents: "The scheme is paused, awaiting markets to settle and construction inflation to halt to be able to review scheme viability. But if successful, it aims to prove the viability of taking heat networks into low-rise social housing estates".
The chair of Gateshead Council's overview and scrutiny committee, John Eagle said: "I think many years ago Professor Paul Younger gave us a talk on this. We sat in this room, never thinking 15-20 years later what he said we could benefit from and come to fruition."
Professor Younger was an expert in hydrogeology and environmental engineering at Newcastle University. He died in April 2018 aged 55.
According to council plans, the heat pumps will initially help reduce the area's reliance on natural gas by 20%. This could increase to 50% once more customers are connected to the heat network, such as the Gateshead Quays.
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The GEC is bidding for more government grants to connect public service buildings to the heat network. These include Gateshead Police Station and Magistrates Court, the Jobcentre Plus, and Trinity Square. This would also create a further customer demand of 10%.
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