New project to use river energy to heat buildings

A new project will harness heat from the River Gipping to heat buildings in Ipswich

A new project will harness naturally occurring heat from a river and use it to keep buildings warm in a town.

Suffolk County Council has been leading a heat network project since 2021 and just secured £10m from a government fund.

With the money, it will use the energy from the River Gipping to heat buildings across Ipswich.

Richard Rout at the council said there would be the potential to power 40 buildings in the first phase.

"This will be a significant project for Ipswich, one which the county council is proud to have been leading on for a number of years, and has now secured a successful funding bid," he explained.

"By taking energy from the River Gipping, there is the potential to provide over 35 GWh of heat each year to public buildings across Ipswich — enough to power around 40 buildings in the first phase, ranging from offices to community buildings."

He added that the council was in discussion with a number of potential beneficiaries, and the first buildings could be connected in 2028.

Richard Rout from Suffolk County Council said the project would deliver "hugely positive upgrades" to Ipswich

The council said the project had the capability to improve local air quality, reduce carbon emissions and deliver "secure and affordable energy".

It is also working with local colleges and the University of Suffolk to support the development of green skills locally and local jobs.

It said learnings from the project would be taken away to allow for the potential expansion across the county.

The project was given £10m from the government's Green Heat Network Fund.