Gateshead District Energy Centre
Desco delivered the M&E design on behalf of Balfour Beatty on this new, high efficiency, gas powered centre in Gateshead, developed to provide low cost electricity and heat direct to buildings in the town centre and on the quayside.
We designed the services for the new centre and the interfaces with the public buildings to be supplied – including Gateshead Civic Centre, Sage Gateshead, Gateshead College and five residential blocks in central Gateshead. The design was delivered using BIM.
The project was led by Gateshead Council as part of its efforts to attract new business to the area, reduce emissions and cut energy bills.
Powered by a 2MW combined heat and power gas engine initially, the energy centre will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 5,000 homes, and has the capacity to be expanded to 6MW as the scheme grows.
As one of the most unique projects in the country, it also offers peak power generation to help balance the grid through a mixture of battery storage and combined heat and power with heat storage.
The project won the LABC Building Excellence Award 2018 for the Best Large Commercial Project of the year.
Project
Gateshead District Energy Centre
Location
Gateshead
Value
£8m