Sewage heat will warm Wee Toon swimming pool
‘WHERE there’s muck, there’s brass’ is an old saying that rings true for an innovative scheme to heat the Aqualibrium from the adjacent sewage station.
Last week Scottish Water Horizons announced that Campbeltown’s swimming pool is at the forefront of a renewable energy revolution.
The scheme, one of the first in the UK, to be run in conjunction with SHARC Energy Systems, creates heat from waste water.
The centre and swimming pool are operated by Live Argyll and the £1 million project will meet 95 per cent of the facility’s heating needs and use just 25 per cent of the energy it currently takes to heat it with gas.
The state-of-the-art installation will intercept waste water from Scottish Water’s adjacent Kinloch Park pumping station.
The technology will extract the naturally occurring residual heat, amplify it and transfer it to the clean water network to provide heating to the leisure centre.
Russ Burton, chief operating officer of SHARC Energy Systems, said: ‘The Aqualibrium project is a significant step for the joint venture and SHARC, demonstrating how our technology provides a real, sustainable and renewable alternative heat service to customers in rural communities as well as urban centres.
‘We have long thought that leisure centres are a great opportunity for SHARC and heat pump technology, and we look forward to working with Live Argyll to make this scheme as success-
ful as our first installation at Borders College in Galashiels.’
Councillor Rory Colville, policy lead for corporate services at Argyll and Bute Council, said: ‘I would like to congratulate all involved in this innovative approach, which will reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.
‘It brings benefits for the Aqualibrium and, more widely, the environment we all rely upon, and I look forward to further examples of similar partnership working in the future.’
The new heat recovery system will be integrated into Live Argyll’s existing heating infrastructure.
The low-carbon, sustainable and environmentally-friendly energy system will heat the 25-metre swimming pool, fitness suite, steam room, sauna and library in the centre.
Expected to be completed by November, the Aqualibrium project aims to expand and accelerate waste water heat recovery systems across the country.
Commenting on the project, Fabrice Leveque, senior policy manager with Scottish Renewables, said: ‘Projects like this are at the forefront of low-carbon innovation and will play an increasingly important role as we transition to a new, low-carbon heat future.’
The work also builds on Scottish Water’s £23 million environmental improvement scheme in Campbeltown in 2012, which delivered a state-of-the-art waste water system and key infrastructure upgrade in the town.