Urban regeneration project including geothermal district heating system kicked off in Scotland
Groundbreaking ceremony at HALO Kilmarnock project, Scotland (source: project team/ Twitter)
Alexander Richter
4 Dec 2017
An innovate urban regeneration project in Scotland has started construction. The HALO Kilmarnock project includes an innovative geothermal district heating system to utilise resources from a depth of 2,000 meters.
In September this year, we reported on GBP 1.8 million in government funding made available for Scotland’s first low carbon, renewable deep geothermal district heating network at The HALO Kilmarnock development in the West of Scotland.
Now it is reported that work is under way on the construction of this project. The
The UK Government has provided GBP 3.5 million of funding to support the development, and the creation of a new Enterprise & Innovation Centre, to be located within The HALO Kilmarnock, as part of its UK Industrial Strategy, the detail of which was unveiled last week. The Enterprise & Innovation Centre will foster the next generation of entrepreneurs, with strong focus on innovation, digital skills, and cyber security. Funding has also been provided by the Scottish Government, Diageo plc and East Ayrshire Council, with the remainder being sourced from private sector investors.
The Government of Scotland supports the project through its Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme and the European Regional Development Fund for Scotland, which will help install Scotland’s first deep (2 kilometres) geothermal district heating network to be installed at the HALO Kilmarnock.”
This innovative technology will generate sustainable heat for the redevelopment of the former Johnnie Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock.
The HALO Kilmarnock, is being shaped as a multi-faceted brown-field regeneration that will create an innovative, inspirational and imaginative urban park with a dynamic commercial, educational, cultural, leisure and lifestyle quarter. Its low carbon, renewable deep geothermal district heating network will address fuel costs on the site and have the capability of being extended to service other areas of the community – a first for the UK. The development will also include a light manufacturing facility and key worker private rental accommodation.
The development is one of four HALO projects planned for the UK and being seen as catalysts for urban regeneration. The next HALO project is proposed for Belfast, with Wales and the North West of England to follow. It is envisaged that The HALO Kilmarnock will connect through road and rail infrastructure directly to the Northern Powerhouse, creating economic benefits across the wider area.
Preparatory ground works, being carried out by Advance Construction Group, have now commenced on-site and the first phase of The HALO Kilmarnock is scheduled for completion in 2019.
Source: The Klin Group, Macklin partnership
