Plans have been lodged for a major new Waterford district heating project spanning several areas of Waterford city.

The proposed development would involve the construction of a new District Heating Energy Centre at the Waterford Crystal site on Ashe Road, along with a heat recovery facility at Bausch & Lomb in Waterford Industrial Park.

The system would essentially produce and recover heat at these locations before distributing it to connected buildings around the city through a network of underground pipes.

The proposed energy centre at Waterford Crystal would have a total generated capacity of up to 45MW and would include heat pumps, gas boilers, thermal water tanks and other associated equipment.

A separate heat recovery plant room and storage tanks are proposed at the Bausch & Lomb site.

Around 8.8 kilometres of district heating pipeline would then be installed along a number of roads across Waterford city, with additional pipes allowing individual sites and premises to connect to the network.

The proposed pipeline would pass through a number of townlands, including Ballynakill, Farranshoneen, Williamstown, Grange Upper, Grange Lower, Ballytruckle, Kingsmeadow, Kilbarry, Pastimeknock, Lisduggan Big, Skibbereen and Ballynaneashagh.

HeatGrid Ireland Limited is seeking a 10-year planning permission for the development from Waterford City and County Council.

A Natura Impact Statement has also been prepared as part of the application.