Cofely digs deep for heat

27 January 2011

Cofely has secured UK government funding for Southampton geothermal project improvements

COFELY District Energy,a subsidiary of COFELY UK, the energy and environmental efficiency services company of GDF SUEZ, has secured £200,000 from Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Deep Geothermal Challenge Fund to part-fund the refit of the Southampton District Energy Scheme’s deep geothermal well.
The Southampton District Energy Scheme, operated by COFELY District Energy in partnership with Southampton City Council, has been in operation since 1986 and serves a range of public and private properties in Southampton. It utilises heat from a 1.7km deep geothermal spring - supplemented by large scale combined heat and power (CHP), biomass and conventional boilers – to generate electrical power, hot water and chilled water (tri-generation).
The Southampton District Energy Scheme serves buildings within a 2km radius of the energy centre, via 12km of insulated distribution pipe. Users include TV studios, a hospital, a university, a shopping centre, a civic centre, residential buildings and a hotel. The Scheme produces over 40,000 MWh of heat per annum, 26,000 MWh of electricity from the CHP plant, more than 7,000 MWh of chilled water.
Simon Woodward, Chief Executive of COFELY District Energy, commented "This additional Government funding is great news for both Southampton and its District Energy scheme. The award of this grant recognises the significant investment of time and money we have already made in the scheme. It also provides a vital source of funding which will enable the completion of a long-term aim of being able to carry out key improvements to the scheme. These improvements will boost efficiency and reduce carbon emissions even further."