A new study has suggested using derelict land in Glasgow to help alleviate fuel poverty.

Researchers at the University of Strathclyde have stated that with the right technology and necessary investment, Glasgow has enough brownfield land available to meet the heat demands of all households in fuel poverty.

Overall, there are 1,195 hectares of vacant and derelict land over 863 sites in the city. Combined with 367 hectares of 50 licensed and unlicensed landfill sites, brownfield land represents 9% of the city area.

Assuming an average household size of 92m squared and peak heat energy demand of 8 kilowatts kWt. scientists state if all available brownfield land had ground source heat pumps with horizontal arrays installed, the entire heat demand of 34,866 properties could be met.

If only 80% of the peak heat demand is to be met, as is typical in optimising such designs, the size of this figure increases to 43,754 properties, nearly half of the total in fuel poverty (93,000).

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In addition, if more expensive vertical boreholes for heat pumps were used, this would boost energy yield and hypothetically meet the demands of all properties in fuel poverty.

Dr Richard Lord, senior lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering, said using brownfield land for renewable heating is one option to support the development of a low carbon economy and stimulate regeneration.

"This study suggests there is potential to ease fuel poverty in Glasgow by making use of brownfield land to deploy renewable energy technologies such as ground source heat pumps," he said.

"Brownfield land is a legacy of industrial retraction in many towns and cities worldwide, where land remains vacant long after it has gone into disuse, and is often a barrier to redevelopment."

He continued: "It is necessary for a balance to be drawn between installation costs, the technology footprint, and the number of properties whose heat demand could be met, to provide the most cost effective, sustainable solution that still allows for future redevelopment.

"Perhaps the greatest challenges in reusing brownfield land to alleviate fuel poverty come from the inherent nature of the land itself – the fact that land is not in use may indicate that it is not currently needed or not economically viable. This might be due to location or the cost of remediation of contamination.

"It is clear that using brownfield land to provide ground source heating for social housing has the potential to contribute to alleviating fuel poverty as well as bringing significant opportunities for the restoration and reuse of vacant and derelict land."

(LM)