Scotland’s first large-scale water source District Heat Network, Queens Quay, 5 years on

May 2

Nearly five years have passed since Clydebank’s Queens Quay Heat District Network, the first large-scale water source of its kind in Scotland, became operational.

The Queens Quay Energy Centre takes energy from the River Clyde to supply heat to key buildings in their region, including the Clydebank Leisure Centre, Clydebank College, and residents at local housing developments.

Alasdair Bryson and Amanda Kean from West Dunbartonshire Council and Jack Devlin of Clydebank Housing Association, who are all involved in the project, share insights into the impact it has had on their communities, lessons for institutions interested in district heating, and the potential for expansion.

Ambitions to tackle fuel poverty

For both the Council and Housing Association, Queens Quay aimed to tackle fuel poverty for tenants.

Jack, Clydebank Housing Association, shares his experience with an outgoing tenant before the project started: “They were paying around £300-£400 a month on energy bills due to issues with the electric storage heaters. Because of our inability to take action at the time, the tenant decided to leave, so we were looking at ways to assist tenants in reducing their energy costs.

“With electric storage heaters, high bills were inevitable, so our goal for the project was to help tenants reduce our bills and keep tenants in the home.”

The inability to properly heat the homes could lead to mould, dampness, and health problems, so addressing this issue was critical on multiple levels.

Lowering cost for Queens Quay communities

Alasdair from the Council agrees: “The first 146 domestic flats connected up would have come from colder, more difficult to heat places, and potentially other electric storage or heating.”

Queens Quay was a huge success in reducing the bills of these communities: “For the Dumbarton Road flats, many residents’ heating costs have been reduced by 2/3s. That's a huge win.”

“From a fuel poverty point of view, you can provide that lower cost of energy,” Amanda adds.

Residents’ experiences

As well as large cost reductions, the Council sees many tenants happy with the district heating systems, receiving no complaints about the new heating.

Another benefit is at a housing level: “Being able to turn the thermostat on and get instant heat or instant hot water's a big plus for them. It's not just the actual ability to reduce our costs. It's having control over how they heat their home.”

Managing the Just Transition: Gas vs Electricity

An underpinning theme in our conversation on Queens Quay was the price of gas and electricity in the current market, which is a significant consideration when rolling out a new heating system to different communities.

Amanda says: “If you're looking at making a just transition from gas to district network, you have to find a sensible, ideally low energy tariff. And one of the main sticking points is the cost of electricity.”

However, the council is currently exploring options for renewable electricity generation for Queens Quay to produce their own electricity.

For other local authorities looking at district heating, she advises, “you need to develop a robust plan for electricity generation because otherwise you're never going to get the figures to stack up in a sustainable just transition.”

Alasdair emphasises the impact that current taxation arrangements have on the gas and electric dilemma: “You can imagine the expansion that could be made if the subsidy enjoyed by gas was rebalanced in favour of low carbon electric fuelled heat sources. People would be demanding heat networks be connected up with that kind of pricing structure.”

Funding

For the Clydebank Housing Association, funding made their involvement in the project possible, sought partly through the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Initiative Funding, as well as through private finance.

Jack advises that others should find out actual costs as early as possible: “After getting costs in, we've had to go back to our funding provider twice to get an increase in funding to allow us to go ahead with the project. I would really advise you nail down the costs.”

Next Steps for Queens Quay

Both parties are just getting started and want to continue with the project and its expansion to connect to more homes and public buildings.

West Dunbartonshire Council is actively working to expand its reach with ambitious plans. There is potential to extend the network eastward towards Glasgow, making it a more regional model for heat decarbonisation.

Clydebank Housing Association also sees it as huge opportunity in the next ten years and is keen to continue expanding. Funding and legislation support are noted as crucial to this being successful.

The future of District Heating Networks

Scotland’s first large-scale water source District Heat Network five years on is a huge success for the Council, Housing Association, and the communities the system supplies to.

However, for this to be rolled out to other areas, expansion for this project and beyond is contingent on investment and policies that encourage these initiatives. With the repeal of Scotland’s Heat in Buildings Bill and other national policies playing a crucial role in the future of district heating, it is even more important that Government, and the wider built environment and energy communities, look at the role they can play.

Andrew Stevenson