Work begins on Paddington Village heat network

Vital Energi, the sustainable energy company, has started on the installation of a heating system at the £1bn Paddington Village in Liverpool,  as part of the construction of a multi-storey car park being built by Morgan Sindall.

The energy scheme will serve the 1.8m sq ft life sciences and medicine campus in the Knowledge Quarter Mayor Development Zone, including the new northern home for the Royal College of Physicians. Vital Energi uses an underground heating network as part of plans to cut the city’s carbon footprint.

The energy centre will be in the ground floor of the 14-storey car park off Elm Grove, which was approved in August, and will house a 1,195 kw/h combined heat and power engine to provide electricity and heat. The heat generated will then be distributed throughout the 30-acre site via a network of buried pipes. Morgan Sindall Construction is the main contractor for both the car park and the energy centre.

Construction has started on site for the car park. The flue for the energy centre will be constructed in January 2020 and is due to be active in summer 2020, and the car park is due for completion in January 2021.

Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “Paddington Village is one of Europe’s major life sciences development sites and its construction is a reflection of our ambition to create something unique; be it RCP’s pioneering Spine scheme to this new energy centre.

“Liverpool also recently declared a climate change emergency and as a city council we are doing everything in our power to cut our carbon footprint. By building this energy centre, it sends out a signal the city means business on making a difference both to our economy and our environment.”