1Energy, the company behind the £40m Bradford Energy Network, has reached a further milestone in its plans to deliver a low carbon future for Bradford with confirmation of planning permission for the construction and operation of its Energy Centre.
The Energy Centre – which will be located on the southern section of a cleared site located at the junction of Thornton Road and Listerhills Road in Bradford city centre – is pivotal to the Bradford Energy Network. It will house the Air Source Heat Pumps that will offer low carbon heating for key buildings across the city centre, providing an alternative to current forms of heating which rely on burning fossil fuels and have a much higher carbon footprint.
The Energy Centre will distribute heat through a network of underground pipes that connect to key buildings. The pipe network is already under construction.
Supporting Bradford’s transition to net zero, it is said the Bradford Energy Network will offer the most cost-effective way for businesses and organisations in the city centre to decarbonise their heating and hot water.
The project aligns with Bradford Council’s goal of being the UK’s leading clean growth district and achieving net-zero by 2038 (12 years ahead of the national target). Each building connected to the Network will see up to a 75% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
It will also support the Council’s efforts to improve local air quality in its Clean Air Zone. When Phase 1 of the network is complete, there will be up to an 80% reduction in the emission of nitrous oxide – a gas known to contribute to a range of health issues, and to aggravate existing respiratory diseases such as asthma.
Commenting on the planning approval for the Energy Centre, Jeremy Bungey, co-founder and director of 1Energy, said: “The Bradford Energy Network will be a landmark project not only for Bradford, but also the UK. Bradford will be the country’s first major city centre to have a low-carbon heat network that utilises an air source heat pump at this scale.
“While the construction of the underground pipe network is already well underway, this decision will allow us to press on with the Energy Centre, which will be a statement building, designed to reflect the proud industrial heritage of the location.
“We are delighted to have found this well located site from where we can deliver this key piece of low carbon infrastructure that will prove so vital to the future of the city centre. Investing in Bradford’s development is at the centre of our company’s aims. Delivery of the Network will continue to progress at pace and we expect construction of the Energy Centre to begin later this year with a planned completion date of late 2025.”
1Energy was also recently granted permission to make minor alterations to its Phase One Network Route, which will enable more organisations to connect to their buildings in the Network’s initial years of operation.
The operation of the Energy Centre and the process of connecting customers to the network is expected to create five full-time and five part-time jobs in the area.
