A village has switched to renewable energy – the first in the UK to replace existing systems retrospectively!
Helping to warm 300 homes in the Cambridgeshire village of Swaffham Prior, the heating network relies on three heat pumps and has inspired other villages to seek similar methods of sustainable energy.
Previously relying on oil, the residents became concerned that economically, the energy crisis could cripple local families.
With support from Cambridgeshire County Council – who offered a field in which to drill boreholes and a barn which was subsequently transformed into their new energy centre – pipes that run through the boreholes extract heat from the soil; pipes that can source heat to any property, making the scheme accessible to everyone living in the village.
So far, over 150 homes have signed up to the £12million retrofit project.
