{"id":3814,"date":"2026-04-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=3814"},"modified":"2026-04-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:00:00","slug":"official-opening-of-hebburn-heat-network-s-paul-younger-energy-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=3814","title":{"rendered":"Official Opening of Hebburn Heat Network\u2019s Paul Younger Energy Centre"},"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>Official Opening of Hebburn Heat Network\u2019s Paul Younger Energy Centre<\/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=\"Official Opening of Hebburn Heat Network\u2019s Paul Younger Energy Centre\"><meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"\"><meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"website\"><meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/press-releases\/official-opening-of-hebburn-heat-network-s-paul-younger-energy-centre\/\"><meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Official Opening of Hebburn Heat Network\u2019s Paul Younger Energy Centre\"><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 Hebburn Heat Network is an exciting new project which is revolutionising the way the community generates and distributes heating and at the heart of the project is the newly opened Paul Younger Centre.<\/p>\n<p>The energy centre, in Hebburn town centre, uses air source heat pumps to provide renewable heating and hot water to Durham Court residential block and Hebburn Central leisure facility.<\/p>\n<p>The Mayor of South Tyneside, Councillor Fay Cunningham unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the building. She was joined by the Mayoress, Stella Matthewson and dignitaries including former Mayor Councillor John McCabe as well as Paul&#8217;s family and friends.<\/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\">The Hebburn Renewable Energy Centre is a wonderful tribute to the late Professor Paul Younger, who was born in the town and went on to become one of the world&#8217;s foremost experts in his field. It was a real honour to perform the official opening and wonderful to mark such a special occasion with Paul&#8217;s family and friends. Paul was described by his colleagues as passionate, warm and as having a fundamental desire to do good in the world. I&#8217;m sure he would be extremely proud to have such a fantastic facility in the town he was born.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"quote__author\">Councillor Fay Cunningham , <span class=\"quote__position\"> The Mayor of South Tyneside<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image rte\" data-anchor=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-image__wrap\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__img-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rich-text-image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/2ozfujig\/hebburn-opening-2.jpg?anchor=center&amp;mode=crop&amp;width=835&amp;height=474&amp;rnd=133776993965870000\" alt=\"Hebburn Opening 2\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__text-container\">\n<p>The Paul Younger energy centre, which feeds the Hebburn Heat Network<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/javascript:\" class=\"js-read-more-rte read-more-btn\">Solution detail<span class=\"btn__link font-ico-plus\"><\/span><span class=\"btn__link font-ico-minus\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<h2 class=\"rich-text-case-study__title rte__title\">About The Project<\/h2>\n<p>The centre&#8217;s two-stage 450kw air source heat pump solution takes ambient heat from the air and converts it into hot water to provide low carbon heating. It has allowed the Council to reduce its reliance on traditional, gas-fired boilers, and is helping to cut carbon emissions by around 320 tonnes per year. Electricity generated locally using solar panels and a Combined Heat and Power unit helps to power the system.<\/p>\n<p>The project originally intended to draw on geothermally heated warm water in flooded disused coal mines. However, this method was found to be unworkable during the drilling works phase due to the conditions deep underground which could not have been foreseen. Fortunately, mitigation measures designed into the scheme from the outset meant the project could progress, with energy generated by drawing ambient heat from the air, rather than from underground.<\/p>\n<p>The scheme secured more than \u00a34.8m in funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and was developed in collaboration with the Coal Authority and Durham University, with the new centre built in a partnership with Vital Energi, Buro Happold and Driver Group.<\/p>\n<p>It is the second of the Council&#8217;s flagship renewable energy projects, following the opening of the award-winning Viking Energy Network in Jarrow (VENJ). VENJ draws heat from the River Tyne using innovative technologies, making it a first in the UK and was also delivered by Vital Energi.<\/p>\n<p>Both schemes, marking their first year in operation, are delivering a combined annual reduction of around 1,035 tonnes in carbon emissions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image rte\" data-anchor=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-image__wrap\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__img-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rich-text-image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/hhqlklog\/hebburn-opening-1.jpg?anchor=center&amp;mode=crop&amp;width=835&amp;height=474&amp;rnd=133776987572100000\" alt=\"Hebburn Opening 1\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/javascript:\" class=\"js-read-more-rte read-more-btn\">Solution detail<span class=\"btn__link font-ico-plus\"><\/span><span class=\"btn__link font-ico-minus\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p>Councillor Ernest Gibson, Lead Member for Neighbourhoods and Climate Change at South Tyneside Council, said: &#8220;These groundbreaking energy centres show real innovation and vision in renewable energy solutions. We will continue to work in partnership with others to assess and deliver future schemes wherever possible to help us deliver even more carbon savings.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are just one of the ways we are using modern technology to meet our energy demands in a more sustainable way and creating a cleaner, greener Borough for our residents.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff Official Opening of Hebburn Heat Network\u2019s Paul Younger Energy Centre The Hebburn Heat Network is an exciting new project which is revolutionising the way the community generates and distributes heating and at the heart of the project is the newly opened Paul Younger Centre. The energy centre, in Hebburn town centre, uses air source [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2554,"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":[9],"ve_sector":[],"class_list":["post-3814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","ve_media_section-press-releases","ve_media_year-9"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3814","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=3814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3814"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_section&post=3814"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_year&post=3814"},{"taxonomy":"ve_sector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_sector&post=3814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}