One of the Council’s aims is to achieve zero-carbon by 2039. This is embedded as of the key priorities in the Our Manchester strategy:
We will achieve our zero-carbon ambition by 2038 at the latest via green growth, sustainable design, low- carbon energy, retrofitting buildings, green infrastructure, and increasing climate resilience.
The Civic Quarter Heat Network has been developed to provide low carbon heat and power to commercial buildings within the Civic Quarter through the use of a highly efficient Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine. The primary objective is to help decarbonise the public estate within the Civic Quarter that is difficult to address thorough other means due to the nature of the buildings and the restrictions around development and alterations to these buildings. The Heat Network will supply heat and power to both public and commercial clients and operate as separate company wholly owned by the City Council.
The energy centre is located underneath Manchester Central Convection Centre. the Combined Heat and Power Engine has a capacity of 3.3MW using gas power and is capable of generating 3.3MW of electrical power and 3.2MW of heat. The energy centre can be expended through the addition of a second CHP engine enable a potential double of the overall output. The energy centre building has architectural merit and included the iconic ‘Tower of Light’ which has featured in The Observer news paper: Tower of Light, Manchester review – a work of fantasy and innovation | Architecture | The Guardian