Four heat network projects in England utilising low-carbon heat sources, such as heat pumps and energy from waste to warm properties, have been awarded £54m in government funding.
Part of the Government’s Heat Networks Investment Project, the capital will be used to develop heat network projects in London, Bedfordshire and Working, enabling the supply of clean energy to roughly 28,000 homes and businesses. In addition to lowering energy bills, the funding will help households and workspaces move away from the use of fossil fuels and reduce their carbon footprint, which makes up nearly a third of all UK carbon emissions. The annual carbon savings from these schemes will reportedly be the equivalent to taking over 5,500 cars off the road.
Minister for Business and Energy Lord Callanan said:
“These projects will transform how tens of thousands of households and businesses keep their properties warm.
“By investing in cutting-edge low-carbon heating technologies we are helping to secure a lasting move away from using fossil fuels and protecting consumers from the costs that are driving up energy bills at a time of high global prices.”
What is a heat network?
A heat network is a distribution system of insulated pipes that takes heat from a central source, such as large-scale heat pumps or heat recovered from industry and delivers it to a number of domestic or non-domestic buildings.
Heat networks are uniquely able to unlock otherwise inaccessible large-scale renewable and recovered heat sources, such as large rivers and industrial heat, allowing them to reduce bills, support local regeneration and provide a cost-effective way of reducing carbon emissions from heating, whilst simultaneously boosting energy security.
The projects receiving funding are:
- Haringey London Borough Council has been awarded £27.8 million funding for two heat network projects – Wood Green District Heating Network (£10.6 million) and the Tottenham Hale and Broadwater Farm District Heating Network (£2 million) – which will collectively supply heat to almost 10,000 homes when fully built out. Both heat networks will be supplied primarily by heat generated by the Energy Recovery Facility being built at the Edmonton Eco Park.
- Thamesway Energy Limited has been awarded over £9.4 million for a major expansion to an existing heat network which supplies heat to public sector, commercial and residential customers in Woking town centre. The investment in new infrastructure will enable up to 3,450 new homes to be supplied as part of a major infrastructure scheme in the west and south of Woking.
- Vital Energi has been awarded £16.9 million to develop a heat network using waste heat from the Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility, located in a former brick clay extraction pit near Stewartby in Bedfordshire. Up to 12,000 homes and non-domestic buildings could eventually be connected to the scheme.
