Leeds PIPES Claims Top Residential Award

We’d like to congratulate partners Leeds City Council, Ener-Vate and Vital Energi after the Leeds PIPES network was named as a winner at the Energy Awards in London.

The project won “Energy Project of the Year” in the residential category, with the judges saying, “This is an important demonstrator of the practicality of district heating systems and hopefully a model that can be taken forward elsewhere. An excellent entry that hits all the right notes. A great mix of concept, realisation, data and outcomes.”

Since the project began in 2018, the network has grown to include 30km of district heating pipework, connecting 2,375 homes and 28 buildings, making it a true city-wide heat network.

Crucially, because the project takes heat from the nearby Recycling and Energy Facility and doesn’t rely on fossil fuels, the council were able to bring stability to customers’ energy bills during times of spiralling energy costs.

Another important outcome of the project is that it has helped Leeds City make strong progress to meeting its net zero targets and in 2023 alone and was responsible for almost 6,000 tonnes of carbon reduction.

We’d like to congratulate the project partners, everyone who has and continues to work on the project to grow, operate and maintain it and a big “thank you” to the people of Leeds for their continued support.