The furnace manufacturer was undertaken at Jernforsen’s own manufacturing facility in the remote town of Järnforsen.

The biomass boiler and furnace is 10m high, will weigh over 130 tonnes when operational, with fuel, and it is capable of generating heat above 1000°C. The furnace will be used to generate high temperature flue gases, which pass through the exhaust gas heat exchanger generating medium temperature hot water (MTHW) within the energy centre.

The MTHW passes through a system of heat exchangers generating the low temperature hot water (LTHW), which will be pumped through a district heating network to the North Haugh campus, where it will deliver heat and hot water for the next 50 years.

When completed, the project will deliver approximately 6,000 tonnes of CO2 reduction per annum. The use of LTHW minimises system losses through the heat network and operational construction costs of the heat network which is designed to operate at pressures in excess of 16bar.

Regional director for Vital Energi, Mike Cooke, said: “I believe that this is one of the most exciting energy projects in the whole of the UK and the scale of the network, the carbon savings generated and the benefits to the local community make it unique. The biomass boiler will be the heart of this energy solution, using up to 17,000 tonnes of locally sourced wood to deliver greener, more affordable heat and hot water to the University of St Andrews’ buildings and the scheme is a great example to other organisations of what can be achieved.”

The Guardbridge Energy Scheme is a 75-week project which sees Vital Energi retrofit a state of the art energy centre into the former paper mill alongside a 14 mile district heating network which will connect to 37 buildings and plant rooms. The boiler can produce heat in excess of 8MW and will achieve 87 per cent efficiency at full load conditions.