As part of a landmark agreement with Devon County Council, East Devon District Council, and Exeter City Council, as well as property developers Persimmon Homes, Barratt Homes, Linden Homes, Bloor Homes and landowners Eagle One and Pater Salter, E.ON will develop a £30 million, 10,000sq ft Energy Centre and district heating network which will provide a sustainable and cost-effective source of heat and hot water to homes and businesses across this major new development designed to serve the growing population of the greater Exeter area.
Approximately 2,800 homes to the west of the M5 will be served through the first phase of residential development alongside Exeter Science Park to the east of the M5 – plus other community facilities and commercial developments.
Jeremy Bungey, Head of Community Energy at E.ON, said: “This agreement with our local authority and developer partners is a vote of confidence not only in district heating as an efficient and cost-effective method of better serving our customers and lowering carbon emissions at home and at work, but also in the success we’ve delivered at our Cranbrook and Skypark developments. He continued, “Work on the new Community Energy Centre serving Monkerton is more proof of E.ON’s continuing investment in cleaner energy sources across the UK. Not only will it provide local homes and businesses with a sustainable source of heating and hot water but will also continue to support Exeter and East Devon’s vision of becoming one of the UK’s leaders in decentralised energy.”
Cllr Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said: “We know that our work to move towards a low carbon economy offers the potential to drive significant business investment and we want to ensure that Devon, and the wider South West, remains at the forefront of this growth in the sector. This announcement sends out a clear signal that Devon is serious about finding innovative solutions to make this a reality.”
The Energy Centre, to be located within the Monkerton development next to the M5 motorway, will house a 3 megawatt combined heat and power engine as well as a 500kw biomass boiler which will provide heat and hot water 24 hours a day. It will also provide low carbon electricity to the nearby Exeter Science Park with any surplus electricity being fed back into the national grid.
Allied with the neighbouring Cranbrook and Skypark developments – also powered by an E.ON district heating scheme – East Devon will be one of the largest low carbon communities in the UK to deliver Combined Heat and Power (CHP) to all residents of these developments.