Sustained by the Loch for centuries
Google Earth
Key Challenges
Is there enough heat? Can it be delivered reliably at the right time?
Is there sufficient density of housing to be economic?
Finding the Funding
Implementation in a sensitive way to the needs of the nature reserve
Is there sufficient demand from the local community?
The Greenspace report, involving the Scottish Government and Ramboll, identified the energy potential across Scotland in parks and rivers, and also the static water lochs.
South Kinross heat demand data from heatmap.data.gov.scot
Heat Density
Heat Density is a key issue to get to an economic solution. Clearly visible on the heat map of south Kinross are the hotels, the swimming pool, the mill, but also the shops and sheltered housing in the centre.
>100 (orange) has a justifiable economic case, >70 may be more marginal. The demand follows the streets. It also reflects the age of the housing.
Storing heat will be important, to match when cheap electricity is available to drive the heat pumps and when the Loch is most strongly heated by the sun with when houses need to be warm. Heat storage devices of scale are available. See the attached BBC article about using sand in Finland to store heat.
There are already industrial buildings at the south of Kinross, like the Todd and Duncan Mill, which have large storage tanks
An additional potential source of heat relates to sewage processing. The Kinross Waste Water Treatment Works, located on the golf course, may be suitable. There is another such works adjacent to Milnathort. Image from Google Maps.
The outflow from the Loch is controlled by the River Leven Trust, historically to manage the water requirements of the downsteam mills and industry, but also to maintain nesting habitats for the birds on the wetlands
There might be an opportunity to generate hydropower from the flow, despite the lack of a significant head height
Gov.Scot Publication - Advice and guidance
Heat Network Fund: application guidance
50% grants are available for Heating Networks of scale. £300 million over next parliamentary session, with support to establish proposals.
Required System Performance
Reliable - whatever the weather/rainfall/wind/air temperature, 24x7 - 365 days each year
High and low temperature heat available. Some houses have underfloor pipes, others old microbore radiators. Two prices?
Fair
Participative - responsive to needs of community
Adaptive - as available technologies and their relative effectiveness evolve
Will it happen?
A community approach like this can succeed, if we choose it to be done
Get in touch
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