Islington to use waste heat from the Tube to warm buildings

Waste heat from the London Underground network is now capable of providing heating and hot water to more than 1,350 homes, a school and two leisure centres in Islington thanks to a pioneering energy centre.

Considered the first of its kind in the world, the Bunhill 2 Energy Centre provides a blueprint for decarbonising heat in potential future schemes in London and around the world, reducing heating bills and carbon emissions while improving air quality and making cities more self-sufficient in energy.

It uses state-of-the-art technology on the site of a disused Underground station that commuters have not seen for almost 100 years. An underground fan extracts warm air from the Northern line tunnels below, which is then used to heat water that is then pumped to buildings in the neighbourhood through a new 1.5km network of underground pipes.

The centre adds a further 550 homes and a primary school to the existing Bunhill Heat and Power district heating network, launched in Islington in 2012. The network already provided cheaper, greener heat every day of the year to two local leisure centres and more than 800 homes, but the new energy centre gives the system the potential to supply up to 2,200 homes.

Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s executive member for Environment and Transport, said: “This pioneering project recycles heat that was simply being lost to the environment. We are cutting carbon emissions in a way that also reduces people’s energy bills, helping us to help them at a time when the cost of living is soaring.

“Not only is this contributing to Islington’s commitment to be a net zero carbon borough by 2030, but this initiative also helps to reduce fuel poverty and make Islington a fairer place, while offering our communities a sustainable, cheaper and greener future. I’m very proud of this exciting project, which promises to make a real difference to residents and the environment.”

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, added: “It’s great to see this highly innovative project up and running, recycling waste heat from the Tube to provide a low-carbon, affordable way of heating local homes and businesses. I’ve set London the target of being carbon-neutral by 2030. It’s an ambition that will require innovative projects like Bunhill to help deliver it. If we’re truly going to tackle the climate emergency we will need progressive partnerships between local authorities, City Hall, TfL and others as was demonstrated so perfectly by this project.”