News & Updates
LandTrust teams up with Energos to deliver a green heat and power solution for Ashton Park
30th April 2009
LandTrust Developments, the company behind the proposals to create Ashton Park, has teamed up with green energy specialists Energos to draw up plans to make the proposed city district one of the most environmentally-friendly communities in the UK.
The pioneering scheme would ensure that the new community has its own renewable electricity and heat supply and can dispose of its own waste in a sustainable way.
LandTrust revealed at the start of March that a state-of-the-art technology known as ‘gasification’ was emerging as its favoured method to deliver the electricity and power requirements of the 10,500-home community. And after further research and discussion, they have decided to work with Energos in preparing proposals for a small-scale gasification facility as part of the wider Ashton Park plans.
Energos has six existing new generation, ultra-low emission facilities in operation at the heart of communities in Norway and Germany and has recently opened one on the Isle of Wight. It will soon start construction of similar plants in Irvine in Scotland and Newport in Wales, is also set to start work on plants in Lincolnshire and has plans for further ones in Merseyside and Derbyshire. The Ashton Park team will also work with local architects White Design to produce proposals for the new facility.
“This facility reflects our commitment to sustainability being at the very heart of Ashton Park and would provide an affordable and green energy source for local residents, businesses, schools and other community organisations,” said Jonathan Chastney, Managing Director of LandTrust Development. “Sustainability and efficient waste management are two of the pillars on which this development will be built and this combines these two challenges in one. “Such a facility offers a fantastic opportunity to provide the homes of Ashton Park with cheaper heat and electricity right from the start, while efficiently dealing with household waste. Unlike many other forms of electricity generation, this technology has inherently low emissions and will have a minimal impact on the local environment. The emissions given off in a day by one these facilities is equivalent to two HGVs with engines idling in the car park.”Nick Dawber, managing director of Energos, said: “This plant will not only ensure the sustainability of Ashton Park, it could also help Bristol and North Somerset to become two of the best performing local authorities on both carbon reduction and responsible waste management.
“A plant such as this can dramatically reduce the amount of material going to landfill, while complementing recycling efforts. It is estimated that the country will run out of landfill space in less than nine years time, so the community of Ashton Park would help avert this serious environmental problem.”
Gasification is a finely controlled two-stage process that converts non-recyclable waste into a gas by using the heat of partial combustion. The gas is then fully combusted to generate heat and electricity.
The plant, which would take two years to build and could be in operation by mid-2011, would create eight megawatts of green power every hour, equating to the output of 15 large wind turbines. It would be able to process all of Ashton Park’s leftover, non-recyclable waste and the heat output, which is normally wasted in conventional power generation, would feed into a district heating scheme to serve the entire community. Users would have individual control of their own heating levels.
Jonathan said: “There is already a landfill site within our development boundaries. In essence that will go to be replaced by a facility which takes waste and turns it into energy and that fundamental change in waste management on this site reflects Ashton Park’s vision for a 21st Century community.”
