{"id":1737,"date":"2026-04-09T08:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=1737"},"modified":"2026-04-09T08:41:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:41:10","slug":"ribbon-cutting-ceremony-held-to-celebrate-district-heating-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=1737","title":{"rendered":"Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held to Celebrate District Heating Expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff<\/p>\n<p><meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no\"><meta http-equiv=\"X-UA-Compatible\" content=\"IE=edge\"><meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><title>Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held to Celebrate District Heating Expansion<\/title><meta name=\"description\" content=\"\"><meta name=\"keywords\" content=\"\"><meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index,follow\"><meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index,follow\"><meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\"><meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held to Celebrate District Heating Expansion\"><meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"\"><meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"website\"><meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/press-releases\/ribbon-cutting-ceremony-held-to-celebrate-district-heating-expansion\/\"><meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held to Celebrate District Heating Expansion\"><meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p>The Co-op Academy Brierley has become the latest building to connect to the Leeds PIPES Heat Network, and is set to feel the benefits of more reliable, affordable, low carbon, heat and hot water from the exemplar scheme.<\/p>\n<p>The milestone was marked with a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the school and attended by key partners including Leeds City Council, Vital Energi and Ener-Vate.<\/p>\n<p>The newly opened SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) school is the latest connection marking the continued expansion of the Leeds PIPES network beyond the city centre into Harehills; with key locations such as St. James\u2019 Hospital in Burmantofts already benefitting from cheaper, more sustainable energy provided through the heat network.<\/p>\n<p>Leeds PIPES recently celebrated having connected over 3,000 dwellings and 55 buildings since it was launched in 2018. It has been responsible for reducing nearly 6,000 tonnes of carbon emissions across the city in 2023 alone.<\/p>\n<p>Co-op Academy Brierley joins a number of educational establishments that have already connected to Leeds PIPES, including Trinity Academy Leeds, Leeds Beckett University and Leeds Conservatoire.<\/p>\n<p>Further extending the scheme\u2019s impact into the classroom, partners behind the network, Leeds City Council, Vital Energi and Ener-Vate, have committed to the delivery of climate education sessions in schools across the city, empowering local young people to discover their future role in the wider green transition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Andrew Wightman, Regional Director at Vital Energi, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe\u2019re incredibly proud to see Leeds PIPES continue to grow across the city, connecting buildings like the Co-op Academy Brierley so that staff and pupils can benefit from cheaper, more sustainable heat and hot water.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Delivering PIPES in partnership with Leeds City Council and Ener-Vate, we\u2019ve seen first-hand the positive impact building connections have had in cost and carbon savings, something we\u2019ll only see more of as we further expand the network.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We look forward to supporting Co-Op Academy Brierly further in their Climate Change curriculum and giving pupils and staff the chance to learn more about Leeds PIPES and the green industry in which the project is leading the way.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sarah Harridge, Headteacher at the Co-op Academy Brierley, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI\u2019ve been very impressed by the partnership between, Leeds City Council, Vital Energi and Ener-Vate in rolling out and expanding the Leeds PIPES network to include Co-op Academy Brierley. Co-op schools are leading the way in dramatically reducing our carbon emissions and actively engaging in a climate change curriculum and opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Leeds PIPES heat network was named following a collaboration with year 9 pupils at Co-op Academy Leeds. These pupils created the name \u2018Leeds PIPES\u2019 \u2013 with PIPES standing for \u2018Providing Innovative Pro-Environment Solutions\u2018.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>At Co-op Brierley, we feel very fortunate to be part of this partnership and look forward to all the learning opportunities it creates for our children and young people, while benefiting from an affordable, reliable, and low carbon heating system.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>To find out more about the Leeds PIPES District Heat Network, please visit: https:\/\/www.leeds-pipes.co.uk\/<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote\">\n<div class=\"wrap quote__wrap\">\n<div class=\"swiper-container js-simple-quotes\">\n<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"quote__holder\"><span class=\"quote__icon\"> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"36\" height=\"28\" viewbox=\"0 0 36 28\"><g fill=\"#F58220\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M12.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 5.681 28H2.033a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 12.319 0zM30.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 23.681 28h-3.648a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 30.319 0z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"quote__holder\">\n<p class=\"quote__text\">I\u2019m pleased to see yet another addition to the expanding Leeds PIPES network. One of seven building connections completed this year, this is the first SEND school to have been set up to receive affordable, low carbon heating. Leeds is working towards becoming the first net zero city in the UK, and connecting more homes and buildings to affordable, low carbon heating like the Leeds PIPES is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"quote__author\">Cllr. Mohammed Rafique, <span class=\"quote__position\"> Climate, Energy &amp; Green Spaces, Leeds Council<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"quote__holder\"><span class=\"quote__icon\"> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"36\" height=\"28\" viewbox=\"0 0 36 28\"><g fill=\"#F58220\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M12.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 5.681 28H2.033a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 12.319 0zM30.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 23.681 28h-3.648a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 30.319 0z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"quote__holder\">\n<p class=\"quote__text\">It is fantastic to see yet another building feeling the positive impacts from connecting to the award winning and ever-expanding Leeds PIPES network. Waste heat from the Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility (RERF) provides c.95% of the heat to the network and can be seen from the Co-op Academy Brierley SEND school grounds \u2013 really helping to tell the \u2018story\u2019 of PIPES. Ener-Vate are proud to have supported the network\u2019s growth since 2018, working alongside Vital Energi and Leeds City Council as part of the project team who work incredibly hard to make this project a success.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"quote__author\">Andy Kirwan, <span class=\"quote__position\"> Head of Network Development (North) at Ener-Vate<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held to Celebrate District Heating Expansion The Co-op Academy Brierley has become the latest building to connect to the Leeds PIPES Heat Network, and is set to feel the benefits of more reliable, affordable, low carbon, heat and hot water from the exemplar scheme. The milestone was marked with a ribbon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ve_media_section":[3],"ve_media_year":[],"ve_sector":[],"class_list":["post-1737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","ve_media_section-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_section&post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_year&post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"ve_sector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_sector&post=1737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}