Determining the feasibility of urban agriculture using local waste heat.
Client: Repowering the Black Country Consortium / Innovate UK
The Brief
Client Details
Repowering the Black Country (RtBC) is a decarbonisation project funded by BEIS and UKRI. The project is carried out by a consortium of local businesses, with the aim of developing the UK’s first net-zero industrial cluster. Within the Black Country, significant opportunities exist to utilise waste heat within horticulture while simultaneously developing urban agriculture in the region to supply local markets and improve food security.
Aims & Objectives
As part of this decarbonisation project, DEL was tasked with establishing the potential to develop urban horticulture in the Black Country through stakeholder engagement. The principal aims were to:
- Identify local sources of waste heat that could supply horticulture;
- Assess interest among commercial growers in the region in developing new sites;
- Engage stakeholders with an interest in social prescribing, including community growers;
- Gauge local supermarkets’ appetite for low-carbon production;
- Map the locations of the stakeholders engaged.
Key Actions Taken
DEL contacted all the local waste heat producers to identify potential partners for the project. Then, all commercial growers in the region were contacted to determine their interest in moving to a new site where waste heat is available. Additionally, DEL engaged community farms and other stakeholders with an interest in social prescribing, including Local Authorities and the NHS. A range of supermarkets was also contacted to determine their interest in the project and in low-carbon production more generally.
Location: The Black Country
October 2021
Opportunites
- There exists significant potential to develop urban agriculture in the Black Country, which could supply local markets and improve food security
- 12 producers of waste heat identified who may be able to supply horticulture
- One supermarket chain potentially interested in a vertical farm in the area
- No commercial growers are currently prepared to relocate, although there may be opportunities for new entrants to the market All community growing organisations contacted were enthusiastic about the project
Outcomes
Limited responses were received from the waste heat producers that were contacted, although 12 expressed an interest in potentially selling heat to an urban horticulture project. However, none of the commercial growers contacted was interested in moving location to the Black Country to take advantage of the low-carbon heat available, although there may still be opportunities for new entrants to the market. In contrast, all the community growers contacted were enthusiastic about the concept.
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