Stirling school joins innovative green heat network

St Modan’s High School in Stirling has enrolled in Stirling’s innovative district heat network.

Identified as one of the highest energy users in the area, the school is the latest end-user to be connected to the green heat network to help reduce costs and carbon.  

Stirling’s district heating network is the first in the UK to use a mix of cutting-edge renewable technologies to harness energy from waste water. The project delivers cheap, low carbon heat to the city and provides a range of significant environmental and economic benefits. The £6 million project was delivered by Stirling Council in partnership with Scottish Water Horizons, with support from the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP).

The district heating network will also deliver low carbon and energy cost savings heat to a number of key public buildings, including The Peak Leisure Centre, the Barracks Conference Centre, and organisations such as Zero Waste Scotland and Volunteer Scotland.

There is also scope for the network to also be expanded across the city to include homes, helping tackle the Climate Emergency by reducing fuel poverty and providing savings for local businesses.

Speaking about the project, Scottish Water Horizons Managing Director, Paul Kerr, said:  “I’m delighted that St Modan’s high school is now connected to an affordable and sustainable source of green heat.

“Heat accounts for over half of the energy we consume in Scotland and it’s vital that we consider new ways to generate and transport it.  Extracting value from waste water provides a significant source of low carbon heat that is normally flushed away.

“Collaboration is fundamental to making this work.  The district heating scheme at Stirling is a perfect example of how joint working can result in a sustainable solution that will benefit the local community both now and in the future.

Paul Kerr, Head of Scottish Water Horizons

Convener of Stirling Council’s Environment and Housing Committee, Councillor Jim Thomson, said: “We are extremely proud of the way this pioneering project is helping to provide energy to local public buildings and businesses in Stirling.

“The ground-breaking technology being harnessed to heat St. Modan’s High School showcases the way Stirling is leading the way in a new era of heating. By recovering waste heat from the water treatment process, we are helping to reduce the environmental impact on both the Stirling area and Scotland as a whole through fewer carbon emissions.”

Vice Convenor, Councillor Danny Gibson, said: “As a council we have reduced our carbon footprint in a range of ways and the ground-breaking technology that is being used to heat St. Modan’s High School is further evidence of the major progress we have made in sustainability.

“As the first of its kind in the UK, the project has made Stirling the home of a new era in heating. It will deliver not only reduced carbon and energy costs for Stirling Council and end-users, it will also generate additional future income and provide employment opportunities through jobs in the growing renewables sector.”

Stirling Gateway Director David Spiller said: “The company is delighted to play a part in this ambitious project that converts waste-water heat into useful and usable energy, for the supply of seasonal heating and hot water to St Modan’s High School.