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Distillery Database

Initial research for this project looked at the malt distilleries currently operating in Scotland. With a view to looking at the potential of district heating as a use for heat created by a CHP generator, a database was created with each distillery, highlighting their location and the nearest population centre or municpal building that could benefit from district heating.

Data from the website Scotch Whisky.net gave the basic stats for each distillery; the annual production volume, number of stills and postcode for the distilleries location. Using these postcodes in Google maps we were then able to identify the nearest population centres up to a limit of 2 miles. The 2009 population data from the General Register Office for Scotland was used to indicate if there was the potential population size to use district heating.

Production Rates

The following chart shows the distribution of malt distilleries based on their annual alcohol production rates.

Production Rates

Population Distance

This next chart then highlights the number of distilleries and the distance to a useable population centre.

Distance of Distillery

This shows that at least 44 distilleries are within 0.1 miles of a population centre that could be used for district heating.

Further investigation into the use of district heating was outwith the scope of this project, however the initial research does show the potential for a significant number of distilleries. Right click the below link and choose "Save As..." to download the excel spreadsheet containing the database.