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homenews and insights case studies royal arsenal riverside woolwich

Royal Arsenal Riverside, Woolwich

Illustration of renewable energy sources powering a business premises and vehicle

The Royal Arsenal Development at Woolwich is a major regeneration project on the banks of the River Thames, creating an urban village in the London Borough of Greenwich.

The transformation of land from a former Ministry of Defence munitions complex is an xcellent example of sustainable urban regeneration.

SSE Energy Solutions was awarded a prestigious contract to design, build and operate an electrical network and on-site Energy Centre to provide energy efficient heat and power for the development.

The development at Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, due to be completed by 2021, will deliver a high quality, high density, mixed use development; comprising over 4,000 residential apartments, including affordable homes. In addition, over 250,000 ft² of commercial remises incorporating a multiplex cinema-based leisure scheme, a nursery, a pub, museums, office and hotel opportunities as well as Primary Healthcare Trust and educational facilities.

SSE Energy Solutions were appointed in 2007 to design, build, operate and maintain an on-site Energy Centre, an Electrical Private Wire Network and a District Heating System that provide both the heat and power requirements of the development.

During the project's first phase 460 dwellings of varying sizes have been built. The Energy Centre is comprised of a Low NOx reciprocating gas CHP (Combined Heat and Power) Engine, 2 boilers (each with 2000 kW capacity) and a Thermal Store (70m3). The CHP has an electrical capacity of 150 kW and a heat capacity 200 kW.

The Energy Centre is connected to the dwellings via a private wire network and a district heating system, the latter of which is regulated in each home by a Hydraulic Interface Unit (HIU). The resident is still able to control the temperature in their home, but the need for individual gas boilers and hot water storage units is eliminated, thus increasing energy efficiency.

The Second phase will comprise 290 dwellings to be served by the District Heating Network and a Public Wire Electricity Network. The Energy Centre has been upgraded with an additional 2000kW boiler to meet the heat demands of the second phase.

As part of our ongoing commitment to this project, SSE will also be responsible for billing each resident for their electric and heat usage, as well as maintaining and repairing the meters (new SMART Meters), HIUs and Energy Centre for the 20 year contract duration.