A new worker-led co-operative unlocking the potential of the renewable heat under our feet

The feasibility study (funded by the Community Energy Fund, via SW Net Zero Hub) was prepared by South West Co-operative Development in partnership with Somerset Co-operative Community Land Trust and Space for Change.

Geothermal heat networks are the sleeping giant of decarbonisation. Air source heat pumps are rightly celebrated for their ability to harvest ambient heat and take the place of a gas boiler. But there is an alternative: as little as ten metres below us there is a source of warmth that is almost constant year round. That means that rather than multiplying the energy input by 1.5, a heat pump drawing on energy underground could multiply it by 4. So, you put in 100W of (hopefully solar) electricity to a pump connected to the well, you could get 400W out.

The problem is that most of us haven’t the space or the capital to get drillers in and sink wells into the ground – it works much better as a solution for a neighbourhood connecting dozens of houses than it does for a single home.

That’s where Space for Change comes it. It plans to work in communities – urban neighbourhoods, market towns or even large villages – to build the critical mass in support of a heat network. The key is to identify a ‘hub’ where the heat demand is concentrated and there is a suitable site for digging or drilling the heat collector. In S4C’s first project, that’s a development of social housing in Taunton. Elsewhere it might be a business, a property developer, offices… what ever it is, that’s the Space for Change.

All it needs is people – a team ready to make this a reality

We have established the organisation – a co-operative society – and we have build community support and raised some initial funding from the Community Energy Fund. But we’re missing one really important thing: people.

To get involved with any of the three partners, contact s4c@southwest.coop. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone living between Priory Bridge Road and East Reach who thinks they might be a potential user of this scheme; or from anyone interested in volunteering their time to help promote and construct the first phase, working with Somerset Co-housing Community Land Trust. It’s a great way to be involved in the start of something new and exciting.