Milton Keynes City Council aims to be net-zero by 2030

“Milton Keynes has always been a pioneering place that steps forward to solve problems. Thousands of businesses and organisations around the city are working on their net zero approach, and residents are playing their part; it’s important we do everything we can to encourage these changes.”

Meanwhile, Milton Keynes City Council has successfully bid for £4.35m in funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to prepare three of its buildings for connection to a heat network as part of its plans to become a net zero council by 2030.

The scheme is run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix.

Capturing local sources of heat

Heat networks capture local sources of heat that would otherwise go to waste, such as from commercial data servers or the heat produced by processing waste. Milton Keynes City Council processes 133,000 tonnes of waste that can’t be recycled at its Waste Recovery Park each year, and as well as creating electricity used to power its fleet of electric waste collection vehicles, that process creates heat.

In a heat network, heat generated by facilities such as these could be transferred to nearby buildings instead of being lost; saving money on power bills as well as being far more sustainable.

“A heat network would provide our city with clean and green heat so our facilities can be cheaper to run, local people can have affordable alternative to gas to heat their homes”

Milton Keynes Central Library, Woughton Leisure Centre, and Milton Keynes City Council’s Civic building would be part of the first phase of the heat network, and heat for local homes would follow, providing local people with a clean, reliable, and affordable alternative to gas bills.

This month the city council will take a formal decision to approve the procurement process to enable the connection of several buildings to a heat network, with the support of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) grant funding.

“This is pioneering work that we are pleased to be able to fund through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. A heat network would provide our city with clean and green heat so our facilities can be cheaper to run, local people can have affordable alternative to gas to heat their homes, and it would also be a significant step towards our aspiration to be net zero by 2030,” said Mahendran.