Waste heat from London Underground tunnels will be used to warm homes and cut energy bills in the first project of its kind in Europe.

The scheme, part of the European Union co-funded CELSIUS project, will capture heat from a ventilation shaft on the Northern line and a nearby electrical sub-station.

Islington Council’s Bunhill Heat and Power network, which already supplies more than 700 homes with greener heating, will run the project.

It will be expanded to capture heat from the vent and the sub-station, enabling at least 500 more homes to be connected to the network.

Councillor Rakhia Ismail, Islington Council’s executive member for sustainability, said the scheme would “boost our work to tackle fuel poverty” and reduce local CO₂ emissions by 500 tonnes a year.

Matthew Pencharz, senior adviser on environment and energy to mayor of London Boris Johnson, said it would help create “a more secure, cost-effective and sustainable heat and power supply for London.”

The mayor wants to reduce CO₂ emissions by 60% and produce 25% of London’s energy from local sources by 2025, and aims to encourage further schemes tapping waste heat.

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