The Anonymous Widower

Canal Water To Heat Some Of Liverpool’s Most Famous Buildings In Hi-Tech Carbon-Cutting Scheme 

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Liverpool City Region.

These five bullet-points act as subheadings.

  • Energy generated from Leeds and Liverpool canal by one of the UK’s largest water source heat pumps
  • Announcement comes as Mersey Heat Energy Centre officially opens
  • Scheme to connect Georges Dock, Cunard and the Museum of Liverpool buildings to Mersey Heat Network
  • Joint project between Combined Authority, Liverpool City Council and National Museums Liverpool
  • Key part of Combined Authority plan to reach net zero by 2035

These introductory paragraphs add more detail.

Three major public buildings on Liverpool’s waterfront are to slash carbon emissions by joining a heat network driven by energy from canal water.

Under the plan, an extended pipeline will connect Georges Dock building, the Cunard building, and the Museum of Liverpool, part of National Museums Liverpool (NML), to the Mersey Heat network.

The newly opened Mersey Heat Energy Centre is already supplying the Liverpool Waters site, the Titanic Hotel and the Tobacco Warehouse apartments.

It uses one of the UK’s largest water source heat pumps to extract energy from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to power a network of heating pipes.

The project is the latest in the Liverpool City Region’s five-year carbon action plan and journey to reach net zero. The Combined Authority has recently secured an additional £35m to decarbonise dozens of other public buildings from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.

This map of the Liverpool Waterfront shows the canal and some of the buildings mentioned.

Note.

  1. In the top-left corner is Everton’s new Hill-Dickenson Stadium, which at the time of this map was under construction.
  2. The pink arrow to its right indicates the Titantic Hotel.
  3. The Leeds and Liverpool canal passes on the South side of the hotel.
  4. On the other bank of the canal is the Tobacco Warehouse.
  5. The canal goes East and then turns North before going all the way to Leeds. The Wikipedia entry gives full details of the canal.
  6. From the Titanic Hotel, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal also turns South and boats can go along Liverpool’s famous Waterfront to Canning Dock, in front of the Tate Liverpool.
  7. The red arrow marks the Liver Building.
  8. Georges Dock building, the Cunard building, and the Museum of Liverpool are just to the South the Liver Building.
  9. To the East of the Liver building, there is Liverpool City Centre, with beyond it Liverpool Lime Street station, with another collection of important buildings including St. George’s Hall, the Picton Library, World Museum and the Walker Art Gallery.

The Combined Authority will not have a shortage of buildings to decarbonise with the £35m  from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.

These are my thoughts.

What Is A Water Source Heat Pump?

I asked Google AI this question and received this answer.

A water source heat pump (WSHP) is a highly efficient, low-carbon renewable energy system that extracts heat from a nearby water source like a lake, river, or canal to provide heating and hot water for a building, and can also be used for cooling. It works by using electricity to transfer this thermal energy into the building’s heating system, offering a more efficient alternative to traditional boilers and reducing energy bills. There are two main types: closed-loop systems, which circulate a fluid through pipes submerged in the water, and open-loop systems, which directly pump and then discharge the water.

Is Mersey Heat Energy Centre A Closed Or Open-Loop Water Source Heat Pump?

I asked Google AI this question and received this answer.

The Mersey Energy Heat Centre uses an open-loop water source heat pump system. It abstracts water from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, extracts heat from it, and then returns the water back to the dock system.

As the Leeds and Liverpool Canal is 127 miles long, and there appears from the map to be a lot of water in the docks at the Liverpool end, I would expect that Liverpool will have more than enough water to extract heat from.

Where Exactly Is The Mersey Heat Energy Centre?

In this article on Place North West, which is entitled Work Begins On Peel’s Mersey Heat Energy Centre, has this image, which is labelled as the Mersey Heat Energy Centre.

Note the large building in the foreground with the circular objects on the roof. Could these be fans or vents?

This Google Map shows the area.

Note.

  1. The two docks at the top of the map can be picked out in the image.
  2. The  main breakwater on the left, which is marked Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, looks very similar to the one shown in the image.
  3. The bridge between the two docks on the left appears to be the same in both map and image.

I am fairly sure, that the large building on the breakwater with the three circles on the roof, is the Mersey Heat Energy Centre.

It certainly looks to be a building, that could provide a substantial amount of heat and power .

What Is The Output Of The Mersey Heat And Energy Centre?

I asked Google AI this question and received this answer.

The Mersey Heat and Energy Centre produces low-carbon heat for up to 6,700 homes and 1.3 million square feet of commercial space, aiming to deliver around 20GWh of heat per year. The project is also planned to expand to supply around 45GWh annually. This heat is delivered to buildings for their heating and hot water needs through the Mersey Heat network.

This article on Place North West, also has this similar answer.

Led by district heat network specialist Ener-Vate, the Mersey Heat Energy Centre will feature two 3MW water source heat pumps that would work on an ‘open loop’ system to take heat from water from the Leeds-Liverpool canal. This heat would be used to warm surrounding homes and businesses within six kilometres.

Plans form the first phase of Peel NRE’s Mersey Heat network. The initial project could supply 20GWh of heat every year, with planning permission secured to expand to supply around 45GWh – the equivalent of supplying heating and hot water to 17,000 homes.

It looks like we’re getting similar answers from different sources.

Does the Merseyside Area Have Enough Green Electricity To Power A Large Water Source Heat Pump?

In Could Liverpool Develop A Massive Zero-Carbon Data Centre?, I calculated the operational and planned offshore wind power in Liverpool Bay and got these results.

  1. 2509 MW has been commissioned.
  2. 3980 MW is being planned.

That is a total of 6489 MW or about twice the output of Hinckley Point C nuclear power station.

This map shows the existing wind farms in the sea between Liverpool, Lancashire and the Isle of Man.

Note.

  1. Each green arrow is a wind farm.
  2. There is the 2452 MW Heysham nuclear power complex near Lancaster.
  3. The Western HVDC Link is a 2250 MW connection between Hunterston in Western Scotland near Glasgow and Connah’s Quay on the Wirral.
  4. I also  suspect more space in Liverpool Bay could be developed with wind farms.

Spinal Tap turned the power up to 11, Liverpool, being Liverpool, they have enough power to go to at least sixteen.

Will Merseyside Have Lots Of Data Centres?

Consider.

  • It has the power.
  • It has the water.
  • The locals speak a form of English.
  • Merseyside will be two hours from London by train.
  • There are two Premier League football teams.
  • The golf courses are good.
  • It is a city that is famous all over the world.

I am sure the number of data centres will grow.

 

 

October 15, 2025 Posted by | Energy | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment