William Penn Leisure Centre kickstarts its decarbonisation journey
Five hundred solar panels are being installed on the roof of a leisure centre in Rickmansworth as part of a project to help decarbonise Three Rivers District and achieve the council’s net zero aim.
After Three Rivers District Council received £152,800 from the government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund earlier this year, Drakes Renewables, a local company contracted by the council, began works in October to install the solar panels on the roof of the William Penn Leisure Centre.
The feasibility of installing a heat pump that could provide low-carbon heating for the swimming pool, replacing the existing fossil fuel burners, is currently being assessed. This analysis will be carried out by technical experts Tomson Consulting.
The project is funded by the Low Carbon Skills Fund which is run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix.
The resulting heat decarbonisation plan will help the council make an informed decision and potentially apply for further external grants to help install the heat pump.
Grand Union Community Energy, in partnership with the council, is currently assessing the feasibility of installing a solar PV canopy in the William Penn Leisure Centre’s car park.
If that isn’t enough, the council is also working to install electric vehicle chargers in the car park of the leisure centre. The chargers will provide a convenient destination for EV drivers to charge their green low-emission vehicles.
Cllr Chris Lloyd, Lead Member for Leisure, said: “We made a commitment to decarbonise the council and its buildings to net zero by 2030 and so I’m very pleased to see the amount of work to decarbonising the William Penn Leisure Centre.
“These facilities are very important to our communities, so we must keep our leisure centres sustainable by making these upgrades.”
Jo Hewitson, the council’s Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy Officer, said: “William Penn Leisure Centre is the most significant user of energy in the council’s building estate, accounting for 46% of total gas consumption and 31% of total electricity consumption.
“These activities will greatly increase the council’s renewable energy production, creating, a more sustainable William Penn Leisure Centre. It’s our biggest opportunity in the near future to reduce the council’s carbon footprint and take a big step forward in our commitment to be a carbon net-zero council by 2030.”
Programme manager at Salix, Christopher Masters, said: “We’re delighted to deliver the funding from the Low Carbon Skills Fund which will mean that the council can bring in experts to create a heat decarbonisation plan.
“This means they will be in a better position to progress their net zero journey and in the future may be able to tap into funding to help pay for capital works, so they can eliminate those old fossils fuelled boilers, for example.”
Notes to editors:
About Salix: Salix’s role is to support the UK government in driving the transition to a low carbon future and meet challenging net zero targets. We deliver and administer grant and loan funding on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Education and the Scottish and Welsh governments. This is delivered across the public sector as well as housing.
The schemes we deliver provide funding for energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation projects for public sector buildings as well as the housing sector. Our schemes are dedicated to reducing carbon emissions and supporting the government’s ambitious net zero targets. These programmes include the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Home Upgrade Grant, the Low Carbon Skills Fund and Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund.
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