Town to probe new underground heat source

WORK is set to start within days on a study which council officials hope will pave the way for a new underground heat network in Solihull town centre.

A test borehole is to be drilled in Tudor Grange Park, which will ultimately help determine the feasibility of the scheme.

A heat network – also known as district heating – uses a system of insulated pipes to take heat from a central source and carry it to buildings.

In Solihull, the hope is that a network could draw on the warmth being generated by an aquifer deep beneath Tudor Grange Park. Pumps can be used to extract heat energy from the liquid.

Solihull Council needs to determine whether the conditions below ground are right to serve a local heat network which will require a trial bore hole to be dug so that experts can measure the water flows.

A vehicle-mounted drilling rig will be set up in the park, with the equipment delving to depths of up to 270 metres.

The works will get under way on January 7 and are set to last four weeks. The council has insisted the impact on Tudor Grange’s car park- ing will be minimal. The data collected from the exercise will determine the feasibility of the scheme.

Underground radar surveys will also be required to establish the space available to lay the network of heat pipes connecting up buildings.

In addition, there will be discussions with utility companies. If things go to plan, the initial phase of the network could be up and running by 2021.

A report presented to Solihull’s cabinet over the summer set out a three phase plan for the network.

It is envisaged the initial system would serve key public sector build- ings including Solihull Council House, Solihull Hospital and nearby schools. Several businesses in the Homer Road area would also be connected up. Further down the line, more private sector buildings would be brought on board, as well as new developments laid out in the Town Centre Masterplan.

The scheme could provide cheaper and sustainable energy and support the council’s strategy to cut carbon emissions.

A £254,466 grant has been made available from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for the study.