Equans has been given a £3.8m contract to remove the gas-powered central heating systems of two tower blocks with ground source heat pumps.
The tower blocks are Denton Park House and Hilltop House in the West Denton area of Newcastle.
The work is supported by Newcastle City Council, which secured £1.4m from the government’s Renewal Heat Initiative to help fund the scheme.
Cllr Clare Penny-Evans, Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member for climate change and public safety, said: “Housing is one of the most challenging areas when it comes to achieving our net zero ambitions, with homes in the UK producing more carbon emissions than all the cars in the country combined. Existing, older homes are by far the worst polluters, and with over 80% of the homes people will live in in the city in 2050 already built we know we need to take decisive action, retrofitting properties to improve their energy efficiency.
“We are working on a programme to improve our own housing stock and this project is key to that, with new low carbon heating systems and projects to improve insulation also helping to reduce energy demand.”
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