Cofely District Energy has secured £200,000 from Department of Energy and Climate Change's (DECC) Deep Geothermal Challenge Fund to part-fund the refit of the Southampton District Energy Scheme's deep geothermal well.
The Southampton District Energy Scheme, operated by Cofely District Energy in partnership with Southampton City Council, has been in operation since 1986 and serves a range of public and private properties in Southampton. It uses heat from a 1.7km deep geothermal spring, supplemented by large scale combined heat and power (CHP), biomass and conventional boilers, to generate electrical power, hot water and chilled water (tri-generation).
Simon Woodward, chief executive of Cofely District Energy, commented: 'The award of this grant recognises the significant investment of time and money we have already made in the scheme. It also provides a vital source of funding which will enable the completion of a long-term aim of being able to carry out key improvements to the scheme. These improvements will boost efficiency and reduce carbon emissions even further.'
Cofely District Energy is a subsidiary of Cofely UK, the energy and environmental efficiency services company of GDF Suez.