A CONTRACT to design, build and operate a central energy network for St Andrew's Park, which is being built on the old RAF Uxbridge site, has been awarded to Metropolitan and its partner Vital Energi.

The new estate will have more than 656 homes, a hotel, care home, theatre and offices. The contract is to supply low-carbon heat to all buildings on the site.

The Mayor of London wants district energy networks to generate 25% of the heat and power used in the capital by 2025.

Metropolitan will build, own and operate a heat network and a gas-fired combined heat and power centre.

It promises to provide a 30% saving on carbon emissions, compared to the more traditional way of generating electricity separately and providing heat from individual boilers in homes.

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A temporary energy centre will supply the initial 350 homes until the main energy centre is completed in 2021.

Residents and commercial customers at St Andrew's Park should directly benefit from lower fuel bills, and Metropolitan has guaranteed that costs will never exceed those incurred by a traditional gas boiler solution.

Customers will be billed on actual real-time readings rather than estimated.

Metropolitan has experience of designing and operating such networks, for example, at the King's Cross development.