Glasgow University is tomorrow (Wednesday) hosting a renewable energy conference on ‘Harnessing Heat from Rivers’ – the first such event to shine a spotlight on deploying river-source heat pumps.
Dave Pearson, Director of Star Renewable Energy – the Glasgow-based company that invented the world’s largest zero carbon 900C heat pump – is among those attending the seminar on renewable heating seminar at the conference. Also attending are representatives from representatives from the UK Department of Energy (DECC) the Green Investment Bank and the Scottish Government.
Pearson said: “Big water-sourced heat pumps that produce affordable and renewable heating are the future, and we are incredibly excited to join a great selection of guest speakers who will be shedding light on the financial and environmental benefits of the next generation technology.
“As the developers of the award winning Neatpump, the Worlds’ largest natural district heat pump providing cheap and clean heating to 6,000 buildings in Drammen, Norway, Star brings an exceptional level of expertise and innovation to the ground-breaking industry event. “
As a nation, Scotland has ambitious goals for the use of renewable heat. By 2020, the government aims to source 11% of the country’s warmth from renewable sources.
With heating making up over 50% of Scotland’s total energy use, achievement of the goal represents substantial financial and environmental benefits. Heat Pumps, hailed as “game changing” technology by the UK’s Energy Secretary collect warmth from cool water sources and deliver it to buildings and households at higher temperature.
This low grade heat technology is already in use in the Norwegian city of Drammen. Star Renewable Energy supplied the revolutionary technology which went on to win the coveted Rittinger Award by the International Energy Agency.
As well as cleaner air and minimised CO2 emissions, countries adopting heat pump technology stand to benefit from substantial savings. Professor Paul Younger, a top academic, commented:
“As is so often the case, Scandinavia saw the light earlier than us, and heat-pump technology built on the Clyde is now heating the city of Drammen by extracting thermal energy from deep fjord waters.
“Meanwhile the Clyde, Forth, Moray, Tay, Solway – our own ‘fjords’ flow by, delivering their renewable thermal content to the open ocean – unused – while heat poverty is such a problem for one million Scots”.
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