Southampton City Council

Ground Floor
Civic Centre
Southampton
Hants
S014 7LS

Tel: 02380 832 600
Fax: 02380 833 405

jason.taylor@southampton.gov.uk
www.southampton.gov.uk

The City Council with its partner in the scheme for the last 21 years, Utilicom, have been instrumental in developing an integrated geothermal, combined heat and power and district chilling scheme in the centre of the City of Southampton. Since the project started in 1986 it has grown steadily and now provides heat and cooling to over 40 customers including civic buildings, commercial offices, TV and radio studios, retail stores, shopping malls, hospitals, colleges, pubs, hotels and dwellings. The City’s regional swimming and diving complex, the City’s new and very large West Quay retail development are also linked to the scheme, including the main anchor Marks & Spencers and John Lewis Partnership stores the main public malls and many of the smaller retail units. Expansions to cover new developments in the West Quay and Ocean Village areas are well advanced and major extensions of the chilling scheme are planned to areas in the City Centre previously only served by heating mains. On the supply side, a new 5.7MW CHP generator was installed in 1998. The engine is a Wartsila V18, weighing 100 tonnes. A new 1.5MW biomass boiler is planned for 2008 to further expand the integrated fuel approach to this innovative scheme. Planning permission has been granted for a cogeneration plant, the heat from which will be fed to some 3,000 council dwellings, eight schools and numerous commercial buildings in the Millbrook of the City. This is likely to be bio fuel based, from sustainable sources.