Progress of £24m green energy plan under wraps

'TOWER OF LIGHT' NETWORK HAS LOST £3M AND IS EXPECTED TO MAKE FURTHER LOSSES

- By ETHAN DAVIES Local Democracy Reporting Service

MANCUNIANS remain in the dark over how a council-funded green energy network is performing - after initially making 3m in losses and failing to contributing to net zero targets.

The town hall-owned Manchester Energy Network opened in 2021, using a giant 'people's boiler' on Lower Moseley Street to supply hot water and heat to nearby important city centre buildings like the Bridgewater Hall.

The boiler's chimney, called the Tower of Light, even won architectural awards and was nicknamed the 'Granada Familia', owing to its likeness to Gaudi's iconic Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona.

But the £24m project has been beset by problems which meant it 'had to be brought back from the brink'.

In its first two years of operation, the Network made £3m in losses. It was expected to make a loss in its third financial year, which closed at the end of last year.