Bosses admit 'mistakes' in Manchester's £24m green energy network that doesn't contribute to net zero

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Bosses have admitted ‘mistakes were made’ when setting up Manchester’s £24m green energy network. The Manchester Energy Network uses a huge boiler on Lower Mosley Street to generate power, with excess heat from the system vented to major buildings in the city centre like Manchester Art Gallery, the Bridgewater Hall and Manchester Central to keep them warm.

But the council-owned network has lost more than £1m since being powered up in 2022. It was also billed as a greener way for the city to keep the lights on when town hall chiefs approved construction in 2018, but so far it has not helped meet net zero targets monitored by climate scientists at the Tyndall Centre. READ MORE: GMP 'wholeheartedly apologise' for failing to protect child from rapist That’s because it’s fuelled by gas generated from biomass, which is then certified as environmentally-friendly with Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin (RGGOs).

But the ‘credentials’ of RGGOs began to be questioned by the government in 2021 — before the network even opened. It was revealed earlier this year bosses ploughed on with using RGGOs because they 'sought advice, but not from the Tyndall Centre'.

That meant the £24m project could not help meet Manchester’s net zero targets, but it has replaced ageing infrastructure making ‘customer’ buildings more efficient.