United Kingdom – SSE Energy Solutions and National Grid announced a groundbreaking new project that could help decarbonize heat networks by capturing waste heat from power transformers and using it to provide hot water and space heating for homes and businesses.
The heat recovery project is expected to cut heat network carbon emissions by more than 40% compared to standard gas-driven systems at first. When applied to transformers fed by 100 percent renewable electricity from wind or solar farms, the technique provides a path to net-zero heat.
If implemented across National Grid’s network of transformers across England and Wales, the initiative has the potential to save millions of tonnes of CO2 per year by harvesting waste heat via SSE heat networks to feed towns and cities across the area.
Proof-of-concept experiment
SSE Energy Solutions’ heat recovery system is currently undertaking a proof-of-concept experiment at National Grid’s Deeside Centre for Innovation, Europe’s first off-grid testing facility for electrical network assets. The facility is designed to be a one-of-a-kind setting for the testing and development of new technologies and techniques. Deeside is an important aspect of National Grid Electricity Transmission’s Innovation program, which consists of a succession of projects that are informed and developed by stakeholders and are innovating to meet the difficulties of the energy transition.
