Queens Quay’s innovative energy system becomes operational

The energy system at Queens Quay, a £250m development project of the former John Brown shipyard area in Clydebank, Scotland, has now become operational and is ready to heat up the 23-hectares area according to the owner, West Dunbartonshire Council. The £15m energy project is one of the UK’s most exciting initiatives within low-carbon heat delivery and is expected to cut more than 4,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions yearly, making Clydebank one of the greenest towns in Scotland. The entire area of Queens Quay will be heated with water from the River Clyde which will be extracted by Scotland’s biggest large-scale water source heat pump and delivered to homes and businesses through the district heating network. Ramboll has been involved in the project since the beginning and is very excited to see the energy system operational:

“Seeing the project come to life is a great milestone not only for the local community, but also for Ramboll. We have been working with the West Dunbartonshire Council on this project for approximately five years and being able to contribute with our knowledge in district heating and low-carbon energy has been a great honour for us”, says Paul Steen, Head of Department, District Energy at Ramboll.

Ramboll delivered a masterplanning and feasibility study project, funded by Zero Waste Scotland, for West Dunbartonshire Council that demonstrated the scale of the opportunity and the preliminary design and technoeconomic appraisal of the energy centre, network and customer connections. Based on the masterplan and the feasibility study, Ramboll worked closely with the West Dunbartonshire Council on developing the concept design of the energy centre and the technical specifications with performance standards. These were subsequently developed by Vital Energy, design and build contractor responsible for delivering the network and energy centre fitout, and Star Renewables who supplied the 2no. 2.6MW heat pumps.

Paul Steen adds:

“I believe Queens Quay will become a world-class reference and inspiration for other communities exploring low-carbon heat delivery. The project will provide lessons for future projects and we commend the whole team for overcoming many technical challenges from designing a system that is compatible with existing buildings, to inhibiting the potential risks caused by mussels forming within the heat exchangers”.

Queens Quay is Clydebank’s new business and living quarter. Located on the former John Brown’s shipyard, the development has transformed the town and provided open access and views to the riverside. The waterside regeneration project includes a diverse range of house types, health and leisure facilities, as well as offices, bars, restaurants, retail and civic spaces including parks and riverside walks and cycleways. The entire development will be serviced by a water-sourced district heating system, Scotland’s first major district heating network. The intention is to deliver heat not only to residents but also to the wider Clydebank community.