Transport for London has received a grant of more than half a million pounds from central Government to help turn their trams depot at Therapia Lane into the capital’s first low-carbon transport base.
Greener: the grant will be used to remove gas boilers and install solar panels at the trams’ Therapia Lane depot
The two-year project will implement changes which TfL says “will remove the dependence on expensive and less environmentally friendly fossil fuels”.
The £592,000 funding was awarded as part of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which aims to provide grants for public sector bodies in England to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures.
The project will see the heating systems upgraded with a mixture of efficient heat pumps and infrared panel heaters that will replace ageing and inefficient gas boilers.
The additional electricity consumption from the new heating system is planned to be offset by using 1,800m2 of south-facing roof space for solar panels, as well as other energy efficiency measures such as improved insulation and LED lighting.
“The planned improvements at the Therapia Lane depot are key to demonstrate that removal of fossils fuels from large, hard-to-decarbonise depots is feasible,” said
Mark Davis, TfL’s general manager for London Trams.
“Once this work is complete, the depot will not only be cleaner and greener, it will be better shielded from more costly fossil fuels to help provide significant cost savings.”
The upgrade of the Therapia Lane depot is just part of TfL’s wider work to further decarbonise London’s transport network and adapt its systems to reduce the impacts of climate change.
TfL is also working to further reduce its environmental impact across its wider network by upgrading lights to use LEDs to reduce electricity consumption, as well as actively seeking new locations for planting trees and installing other forms of green infrastructure.
It is also maintaining and developing urban greening features, especially in outer London where there is more greenery, which can support better drainage and reduce flooding.
- Inside Croydon – as seen on TV! – has been delivering local community news since 2010. 3million page views per year in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
- If you want real journalism, actually based in the borough, you should consider paying for it. Please sign up today. Click here for more details
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
