Council / Work ongoing to connect town hall to district heating system
ONE of Lerwick’s most iconic buildings is preparing to be connected to the town’s district heating network.
The fairly significant underground pipe work ongoing outside the sheriff court is part of plans to connect the A-listed Lerwick Town Hall to the heating system.
A spokesperson for Shetland Islands Council said: “This is the first phase of works to install external pipework, with the existing oil boiler in the building then scheduled to be replaced early in 2026.
“This work is part of a wider programme of works to decarbonise properties in the council’s estate.”
Lerwick’s district heating scheme – which has been up and running for more than 20 years – uses heat generated from burning rubbish, which would otherwise go to landfill, in the town’s energy recovery plant to provide hot water to homes and businesses in the area via pipes.
This brings cost benefits for customers, with district heating comparing favourably to other energy forms.
At the moment around 1,300 properties in Lerwick are connected, which is about one third of the town.
It is operated by Shetland Heat Energy & Power (SHEAP), which is subsidiary of Shetland Charitable Trust.
As reported last week week, energy developer Statkraft has floated the idea of using excess heat from its proposed Tagdale ammonia plant near Dales Voe for the district heating network.
Following Wednesday’s consultation meeting, Shetland News questioned whether Statkraft would intend to sell the excess heat to SHEAP, or give it away – seeing as it has been described as a community benefit element of the Tagdale project.
A spokesperson for Statkraft said they were unable to comment given it is a discussion “between two businesses”.
But they did say that Statkraft has a “really positive relationship with SHEAP, and we’re both really excited about the potential of this project for expanding the network”.
It was also announced recently that Scottish Government funding worth up to £9,000 will be made available to households to connect to the Lerwick district heating network.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
