Residents of a village near Falmouth are being encouraged to switch to a sustainable ground source heating system as part of a new renewable heating project that has been desccribed as a 'UK first' of this scale. 

Local company, Kensa Utilities, has been awarded a £6m grant by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to part-fund ‘Heat the Streets’, an £8.7 million Cornish renewable heating project, the initial stage of which will pioneer a Heat Pump Village in Stithians.

After a competitive bidding process, Stithians Village was chosen for the first phase of the ground-breaking initiative, due to its favourable geology, engaged community energy partnership and the fact that, like many rural areas, the whole village is off the gas network.

The heavily subsidised ground source heat pump installations will aim to save residents money on their heating bills, improve the energy efficiency of properties in the village, combat local air pollution and carbon emissions, and provide employment opportunities in the local area.

Using freely available and naturally replenished heat energy stored below the surface, ground source heat pumps can achieve higher efficiencies than any other heating system.

As the units are electrically powered, non-combustion devices that emit no local emissions or air pollution, the ground source heat pumps will reduce the carbon output associated with heating each home by around 70%.

Lisa Treseder, Senior Project Manager at Kensa Utilities, who are a Cornish ground source heat pump infrastructure and asset company, said: "We are delighted to have secured European money from ERDF to part-fund this project, which is investing in local Cornish communities and providing future generations with cleaner, greener homes.

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"Ground source heat pump technology is a proven, reliable, low cost and ultra-low carbon form of heating, and ‘Heat The Streets’ is offering hundreds of local people the chance to have it installed in their homes for a fraction of the normal upfront cost.

"The very ground their houses are built on will provide residents of Stithians village with renewable heat for years to come.

"We’ve already had encouraging feedback and interest from many residents, so we look forward to engaging further with the Stithians Energy Group and other stakeholders prior to the heat pumps being installed in 2022."

Throughout the summer of 2021, Kensa Utilities is looking for 175 private households in Stithians, of any tenure, who want to take advantage of this unique opportunity to switch to a new renewable heating system worth around £20K per household, complete with ground source heat pump, radiators, hot water cylinder and smart thermostat.

Phil Blease at Stithians Parish Council, said: "Since declaring our Climate Emergency in 2019, Stithians Parish Council (SPC) has worked closely with Stithians Energy Group (SEG) on numerous projects.

"The success of these projects has inspired many more energy groups to be set up and general awareness of the climate issues has risen significantly locally.

"Networking in this environment has resulted in significant developments benefiting the Stithians community.

"The Heat the Streets project is a major step forward, with a mega £8million budget, it will see Stithians remain a flagship area for adopting cutting edge green technologies which will not only benefit individuals and the community it will help save the planet for future generations."

Property owners wishing to be considered for this project can sign up at kensautilities.com/heat-the-streets-stithians/, or email info@kensautilities.com to be entered onto the waiting list.