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The Cardiff Heat Network supplies low carbon heat from the cities Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Cardiff Bay to supply public sector buildings, housing and higher education across the Bay and southern city centre, with landmark connections including the Welsh Government Senedd, Wales Millennium Centre, County Hall, and Tŷ Hywel. Phase 1 is now fully operational and work continues to investigate extending the network in the Cardiff bay area and further into towards the city centre.
Appointed as Technical Advisor during the detailed project development and commercialisation stages, we supported Cardiff Council from RIBA Stage 3 design through procurement, planning, and deployment including project management, principal designer duties, and ongoing extensions and development.
Scope
We were appointed by Cardiff Council to provide technical support across six workstreams during the commercialisation stage of the scheme. This began with RIBA Stage 3 developed design for the top-up and back-up energy centre, ERF heat transfer station, phase 1 network pinch points, and public sector building connections, followed by development of full tender documentation for DBOM contractor procurement. We provided ongoing technical support throughout the procurement process - responding to contractor queries, updating the ITT, supporting proposal evaluation, and integrating outcomes into the Full Business Case. In parallel, we developed technical information for the planning application and provided detailed technical advice in relation to both the heat purchase agreement with the ERFoperator and heat sale agreements with phase 1 customers. Following contractor appointment, we delivered project management during construction and acted as Principal Designer under CDM 2015 through to Phase 1 completion and commissioning in 2025. We are now undertaking feasibility and design work for Phase 2, extending the network north towards Cathays Park and south from Cardiff Bay, including grant applications.
Services
Technical Advisory, RIBA Stage 3 Design, DBOM Tender Documentation, Procurement Support, Planning Technical Support, Heat Purchase & Sale Agreement Advisory, Project Management, Principal Designer (CDM 2015), Phase 2 Feasibility & Design, Grant Applications.
Solution
The 15 MW thermal offtake from the 3rd stage of the turbine at Trident Park ERF achieves a high Z-factor and a carbon intensity far lower than the counterfactual heat pump. A back-up energy centre was constructed under the viaduct adjacent to the ERF plant. The back up energy centre incorporates thermal stores to maximise the use of heat and as the back up boilers are only required in the rare occasions, a novel approach was adopted to use flue dillution are remove requirement for flues. The DN300 heat network includes a 600m above ground section into the city area before going underground. Twin pipe has been used to route through congested areas of the city and the total installation in Phase 1 is 4km.