Over 250 People See New Heating System At Open Day
Over 250 people from Pulteneytown and other parts of Wick attended the open day to find out if they could benefit once the new wood chip heating system is in place later this year.  With gas and electricity prices about to be increased by 22% there was no doubting the potential savings that users of the new system could make once it is installed.  Council house tenants will have the system installed free by the Highland council.  House owners can have the system installed by purchasing the equipment.  Most folk agreed that they would all save money on the system once installed.

18 February 2006
CAITHNESS HEAT and POWER
Installation work for the Community Heating scheme in Pulteneytown is due to start in the next few weeks.

To let the public know what this means for them Caithness Heat & Power (CHaP) is holding an open day at South Primary School on Saturday 18th February. This is an opportunity to ask questions about the system. It will run from 11.00am to 5.00pm

Everyone from Pulteneytown is invited to drop in anytime during the day. Representatives from CHaP, the Council and the contractors installing the under road pipe network and the heating systems within the houses will be available to answer questions. The house fittings can be seen at the PPP flats in Murchison St.

To recognise interest in the scheme CHaP will have two free draws, one for the tenants who answered our initial questionnaire last year and one for those who have had their houses surveyed. The prize in each section is £100.00.

The project is the first of its type in Scotland and Chap are proud to have brought the idea to an area of Caithness where ever rising fuel prices are a real issue. The people of Pultenytown have a chance to take part in an exciting development which should save them money and contribute to a reduction of fossil fuel carbon emissions.

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• CHaP is an award winning not for profit community owned company formed in December 2004. It comprises Inverhouse distillers, who operate Pulteney Distillery, Pulteney Peoples Project and the Highland Council. The respective directors are Graham McWilliams, David Dunnett and Graeme Smith.

• When this project is up and running it is hoped to install similar “renewable energy” schemes throughout Caithness.

• The distillery presently burns 750,000 of expensive heavy fuel oil annually. Much of the heat is presently wasted. This burn will be replaced with 30,000 tonnes of virtually CO2 neutral wood chip. The distilleries waste heat will be re-used to heat local homes in an area of high fuel poverty.

• It is hoped that as much wood chip as is economically possible will be sourced within the north Highlands.

• Fuel Poverty is defined as a household in which more than 10% of income is spent on fuel.

• This first phase of the project has been funded mainly through £1.54 million from the Community Energy Programme and Energy Saving Trust plus £1.6 million from the Highland Council Housing Departments “warm and dry” annual funding for the area.

• We hope to link 500 houses to the distillery during the first phase.

• For phase two we intend to install an enhanced boiler which will burn fuel even more efficiently and allow CHaP to sell the excess heat as green electricity to the grid. We will also expand the system to take in 1,000 customers, domestic, commercial and local government.