BRADFORD Council has released the first images of a proposed energy centre that will power a planned low carbon heating network.

The £14.3 million scheme has been proposed to provide low cost, low emission heating for numerous city centre buildings, including the Alhambra Theatre, City Hall and Bradford Magistrate's Court, as well as a number of private buildings.

The scheme, which is part funded by the the Government, involves heat and power being moved between buildings via underground pipes and wires, with an energy centre powering the system.

The Council today released an artist's impression of what the energy centre would look like - although it is yet to reveal where in the centre it will be based.

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Bradford Council’s Executive, when it meets on Tuesday will be asked to approve an outline business case for the ambitious scheme, which has been in the pipeline for years.

It had previously been announced that the system would use greener energy production methods such as biomass burning to produce energy for nearby buildings.

The process would release less carbon into the city’s atmosphere than existing energy provisions - a reduction of around 10 per cent per year.

The Council says the potential benefits of the heat network include lower price energy, extra income for the Council, lower carbon emissions and reduced heating costs for Council buildings.

The Government is encouraging the development of District Heat Networks in the UK as a way to reduce greenhouse gas and a move towards low carbon energy and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is providing funding and resources to support their development.

This has been developed under the West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Energy Accelerator Programme by a consortium which includes Turner and Townsend, Brodies Solicitors and Carbon Trust who have provided specialist legal and technical advice.

Further funding has been supplied by BEIS who have supported the scheme throughout its development.

This grant is also enabling the use of dedicated project management support from Arcadis.

A pre-planning enquiry has been sent to the Council’s Planning Department and officers are also working closely with the Air Quality team to ensure that the DHN will not create an unacceptable impact on air quality.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “Bradford Council is committed to reducing carbon emissions and seeking to use sources of renewable energy in its buildings where possible. This all fits into the work we are doing across the organisation to tackle climate change.”