Worthing Borough Council has commissioned energy company Hemiko to build and operate a heat network in the town.
The networks are an alternative to gas boilers and provide heating to homes and buildings through a series of insulated pipes.
Worthing Heat Network will use power generated by large heat pumps and waste heat – technologies already in use in other parts of the UK and Europe.
Councillor Sophie Cox, Worthing’s cabinet member for climate emergency, said: “The Worthing Heat Network is a really exciting project for the town and a key part of our goal to be a carbon neutral authority by 2030.
“Buildings such as Worthing Hospital, Splashpoint, the Connaught Cinema and our council offices will benefit from the heat network, allowing us to remove our gas boilers from these public spaces and improve our town’s air quality.
“I’d really encourage locals to look over the plans and tell us what they think.”
The energy centre would be built next to the High Street multi-storey car park and would house the heat pumps and thermal stores.
The centre will take heat from the air and upgrade it to usable heat. The only by-product of this will be cooler air, which is then released by a series of fans on the roof of the car park.
Two trees next to the car park will need to be removed, but the project is expected to cut Worthing’s carbon emissions by at least 3,000 tonnes a year.
Jim Birse, Worthing Heat Network project director at Hemiko, said: “Our vision is to offer everyone in Worthing a low-carbon heat network connection by the time they need to decarbonise.
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“We hope to make the net zero transition as simple as possible for the communities we are part of.”
The planning application will be reviewed by the council’s planning committee at its meeting at Worthing Town Hall on December 20 at 6.30pm.
People can comment on the application through the council’s website ahead of the meeting.
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