January 6, 2020

 

ThamesWey, together with construction partner Galliford Try, has broken ground on Woking’s new low-carbon Energy Centre.

Galliford Try commenced with building the foundations for the £20m combined heat and power energy centre in Poole Road on Monday (6 January 2020).

The first phase of constructing the foundations involves putting 149 concrete piles into the ground. In order to minimise noise and vibration, the method of piling being deployed is the Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) process which uses a machine with a tall auger.

Once the 20m deep concrete piles are in place, the next phase of construction will begin with the main concrete foundations starting to be dug out up to ground floor slab level. The two-storey energy centre with one floor of office above will then start to take shape.

The whole development is anticipated to take 14 months to complete and is part of the vital infrastructure enabling Woking to grow sustainably.

Once complete, the first customers to receive the generated low-carbon heat and power will be the new Hilton hotel, shops and over 400 apartments which form the new Victoria Square development.

With the capacity to supply other future developments in Woking town centre, the new energy centre has been designed to generate enough heat and power to supply the equivalent of over 2,500 homes for the next 50 years. Despite its practical purpose, the building has been designed to provide a distinctive feature visible from the main railway line, with its large, orange thermal stores forming a striking new landmark as well as providing an efficient way of storing heat to supply customers at times of peak demand.

With Woking’s 2030 carbon neutral future in mind, the energy centre has been designed to incorporate new green energy technologies to further reduce Woking town centres dependence on fossil fuels.

Sean Rendall, ThamesWey’s Chief Operating Officer, said “we are delighted to have started construction on our new district heating system for Woking. Construction of Poole Road energy centre provides the embodiment of our founding commitment to transition Woking town centre to sustainable, low-carbon energy.”