Heat harnessed from wastewater from Scottish Water's treatment works in Forthside is being processed through an on-site energy centre and then distributed along Stirling Council’s District Heat Network.

The £6 million district heat network scheme, which is now fully operational, uses wastewater from the Scottish Water site to heat a number of buildings in the Forthside area of Stirling.

The ground-breaking project is the first of its kind in the UK and uses a unique mix of cutting-edge technologies to take heat from waste water and turn it into low carbon, low cost heating.

The network was been designed so that there is future potential for expansion to include more businesses and nearby housing.

At a launch event for the scheme, delegates heard from Paul Kerr, Managing Director of Scottish Water Horizons, and Stirling Council's Chief Operating Officer of Infrastructure, Brian Roberts. They learned about the benefits of this new scheme and how it will support regeneration in the area, increase energy resilience, and reduce costs and carbon.

Managing Director of Scottish Water Horizons, Paul Kerr, said:

“We’re really proud of this low carbon project in Stirling. Not only will Stirling Council and end users benefit from reduced carbon and energy costs, the scheme is providing Scottish Water’s Stirling Waste Water Treatment Works with the majority of its energy requirements, helping support Scottish Water’s target of reaching net zero emissions by 2040.”

“The project has great potential for replication throughout Scotland, with several opportunities already under investigation, and we’re always on the lookout for more.”

It is anticipated that end-users will save up to 10% on their heating bills. The scheme will also greatly contribute towards Scotland’s zero-carbon targets by helping to save a projected 381 tonnes of carbon per annum – the equivalent of 1.5 million miles driven in an average petrol car, or a passenger jet flying from Glasgow to Sydney, Australia, about 82 times(source: climatecare.org).

Scheme uses one of world's great untapped energy resources - waste water 

Stirling-based building services company FES delivered the project on behalf of Scottish Water Horizons and Stirling Council.

Speaking about the project, Fabrice Leveque, Senior Policy Manager at Scottish Renewables, said:

“More than half of the energy consumed in Scotland is in the form of heat. As a society, we take warm homes and workplaces and constant hot water for granted, but if we are to have any chance of meeting our stretching climate change targets we urgently need to re-think our relationship with heat and the way it is generated, transported and used.

"District heating schemes like this cut the damaging carbon emissions which come from gas boilers as well as improving local air quality - a key consideration in urban areas. Stirling's new system goes one step further, too, using heat which was literally flushed away and making use of one of the world's great untapped energy resources: the waste water which runs beneath our feet."

The project has been delivered by Scottish Water Horizons in partnership with Stirling Council, with additional funding provided by the Scottish Government.