Vital Energi is assisting with the delivery of a new residential development in Edinburgh that will provide heating to 709 properties without the use of individual gas boilers, a strategy projected to eliminate 294 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

The dedicated energy services division of the company, Vital Community Energi, has finalised contracts to construct, own, and run the central energy plant at Edmonstone Village, located in south-east Edinburgh. The long-term pledge covers roughly 40 years, guaranteeing that the entirely gas-boiler-free development receives 100% of its thermal supply from a single, locally managed hub.

The system utilises industrial-scale air source heat pumps at a centralised facility to distribute warmth to individual households through insulated network piping. This infrastructure allows residents to pay an annually fixed tariff, providing far greater financial predictability than traditional gas-dependent utility costs and lowering vulnerability to volatile global gas markets.

Scheduled for commissioning by next May, the permanent energy facility features two primary air source heat pump cascade configurations—each containing three smaller heat pump units—with integrated gas boilers functioning solely as a backup system. Constructed to an N+1 engineering standard, the network incorporates multi-tier redundancy: a single cascade can support the whole development, the secondary cascade acts as a backup, and the gas boilers offer an additional layer of operational security.

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"Edmonstone Village represents exactly the kind of long-term commitment we are building this part of the business around," said Kieran Walsh, Regional Manager at Vital Energi. "We are not coming into design and build an energy centre and hand it over. We are investing in this community for the next four decades, owning the asset, operating it, maintaining it, and standing behind the heat supply for every resident who moves in. That means residents get a managed, resilient service with pricing that is not at the mercy of global gas markets. It is a fundamentally different proposition from a conventional new-build heating arrangement, and is an exemplary project for future developments across the UK."

Vital Community Energi will handle all customer-related operations at the development, managing metering and invoicing through its proprietary Glass app alongside a 24/7 maintenance team and customer care team. Operating under Heat Trust benchmarks—the voluntary regulatory framework established ahead of incoming Ofgem heat network rules in Great Britain—the arrangement ensures consumers receive protections matching those of regulated utility suppliers.

As part of the project, housebuilder Avant Homes is currently constructing an £87 million, 312-home development inside Edmonstone Village.

Commenting on the Vital Energi agreement, Avant Homes Scotland's land and special projects director, Iain Allison, said: "Edmonstone Village is an excellent example of the housebuilding industry's transition towards greener energy use in line with the environmental ambitions of the Scottish government.

"Our partnership with Vital Energi ensures our development contributes towards the government's net zero targets and the ultimate objective of the removal of gas boilers in all new homes.

"Buyers of our homes at Edmonstone Village will benefit from a service that covers the full heat system, offering long‑term security of supply and peace of mind for our customers. We wanted a long‑term partner, not a short‑term solution, and this arrangement delivers exactly that."

The Edmonstone Village facility aligns with Vital Energi's corporate transition toward owning and managing energy infrastructure assets over the long term. Alongside its recent minewater heat network initiative at Seaham Garden Village in County Durham, this site expands the provider's portfolio of developments where it serves as the direct builder, proprietor, and enduring operator rather than a temporary installation contractor.