The Shawfair development is an urban design masterplan that will see the development of over 3,000 new homes, two primary schools, a secondary school and 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m2) of commercial and retail space. The development is situated just outside the eastern boundary of the city of Edinburgh. Shawfair LLP is a joint venture between Mactaggart & Mickel and Buccleuch Property.

Vattenfall Heat UK (part of Swedish energy company Vattenfall AB) and Midlothian Council are working together under a joint venture known as Midlothian Energy Limited (MEL) to deliver the heat network to supply Shawfair town with heating and hot water. This project is an important first step for the region. The Shawfair development forms a key part of Midlothian Energy Limited’s 5-year business plan to supply heat to over 30,000 households.

FES Group was delighted to win the competitive public tender as Principal Contractor to Midlothian Energy Limited to supply the Energy Centre and District Heating Network (DHN).

Project Description

FES Group was engaged by Midlothian Energy Limited to deliver the following:

•  FES was contracted, as Principal Contractor, to design and build the low-carbon heating Energy Centre and District Heating Network for Shawfair New Town.

The heat source for the heat network involves energy from waste captured from the Millerhill Recycling and Energy Recovery Centre operated by FCC Environment, adjacent to the MEL Energy Centre, delivered through a waste heat 10MWth plate heat exchanged connection.

The heat is distributed through a 4km district heating network which serves 3 no. heat substations, incorporating water to water plate heat exchangers and secondary pump sets for the house developers to connect the secondary network on to distribute heat to the new homes.

There is capacity for future expansion to increase the network capacity to 20MW.

Sustainability

The initial phase of the project is expected to save over 2,500 tonnes of CO₂ per year; the equivalent of taking 1,200 cars off the road.

Prefabrication

FES made good use of prefabrication for pump skids, all large bore pipework sections and also prefabricated and installed secondary steelwork to support the M&E services. This avoided the need for having floor mounted supports, leaving space for future expansion and maintained clear access to the plant and equipment within the Energy Centre.

Outcome

The Energy Centre and District Heating Network were delivered on time and on budget.  There were zero accidents on the project.

Operation and Maintenance

FES Group secured the contract for operation and maintenance of the facility, following it being tendered via Public Contracts Scotland.  All tender aspects relating to the operation and maintenance contract were carried out using accurate data – for example, comprehensive asset lists – which were sent to all parties to allow tender submissions to be compiled accurately, and then assessed on a like for like basis.

Client Feedback

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Martin Abercromby, John Cameron and the wider team for the successful delivery of this project which, despite the challenges, has been delivered on budget, on time and, most importantly, safely. 

 It has been a pleasure to work with you all on this project and I look forward to our ongoing relationship whilst we deliver the remaining components as we grow this fantastic Energy Centre and District Heating Network that has been constructed.”

Mark Street, Senior Project Manager, Vattenfall UK