Issue - meetings

To consider a report from the Director for Director for Digital, Sustainability & Resources, a copy is attached as item 7.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Communities, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 7.

The report set out the significant progress being made to deliver a flagship heat decarbonisation scheme in the heart of Worthing. Using technology well proven in Europe, the Worthing Heat Network would be one of the very first of its kind in the UK, cost effectively delivering against the Councils’ 2030 carbon neutral target, in a large scale scheme already well supported by BEIS, and strongly aligned to national government ambitions in the lead up to COP 26.

The scheme proposed to deliver a heat network that would enable heat decarbonisation at scale not just for 8 council-owned existing buildings (accommodating staff from both councils), but also for other public sector buildings (WSCC, MoJ, NHS, Police) along with major development sites including the Worthing Integrated Care Centre, Union Place and Teville Gate.

Adur & Worthing Councils, in leading the development of such scalable infrastructure, would provide a platform for cost effective decarbonisation of heat for multiple organisations, providing the leadership needed to help accelerate reductions in area-wide carbon emissions. Phase 1 of the network was expected to save 3,000 tonnes CO2 each year, supporting the shared challenge to become carbon neutral for the council and the area.

The report sought approval from Joint Strategic Committee to progress applications to the Heat Network Delivery Unit and the Heat Network Investment Programme in April 2021 for circa £4m, with further reports to JSC in September 2021 (approval to procure) and April 2022 (concessionaire contract award).

The feasibility of delivering a Worthing Heat Network was well progressed. The project had attracted £300,000 funding from the Government through the Department of Business Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), its Heat Network Delivery Unit (HNDU) and the Greater South East Energy Hub. Expert technical, commercial and economic support had been provided by BEIS who had recommended the project proceed to submit a funding bid to the Government’s Heat Network Investment Programme (HNIP) for Commercialisation and Construction.

The proposed primary heat source was extraction of waste heat via a heat pump from the Worthing mains sewer. This zero carbon solution offered value for money when compared to individual building-level heat pump solutions, and would constitute one of the first innovations of its kind in England, though a successful project operated in Scotland and the technology was well used in Europe.

The report updated Members on work undertaken since December 2019. The proposed next steps for the Worthing Heat Network were set out at Section 6 . Members approval was sought to continue working with BEIS, consultants and stakeholders to finalise the draft Outline Business Case (OBC); submit a funding bid to the HNIP for Commercialisation and Construction; and if successful to undertake a procurement process for a private sector provider to deliver the Worthing Heat Network under a finance, design,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128