Households and businesses across England are set to benefit from
greener heating as a £288 million government funding scheme is
opened – boosting the rollout of next generation heat network
projects as part of cutting emissions.
Schemes that will deliver clean heating to homes, offices,
commercial and public buildings will be able to apply for grants
to the Green Heat Network
Fund over the next 3 years, allowing more towns and
cities across England to take up this tried and tested
technology.
The fund is expected to reduce carbon emissions equivalent to
taking 5.6 million cars off the road for a year.
Heat networks offer carbon emissions savings by supplying heat to
buildings from a central source, avoiding the need for households
and workplaces to rely on individual, energy-intensive heating
solutions - such as gas boilers.
Funding will support the uptake of low-carbon technologies like
heat pumps, solar and geothermal energy as a central heating
source. Applications for grants can be made from 14 March.
Energy Minister said:
Heating in buildings forms a significant part of the UK’s carbon
footprint, so changing how we warm our homes and workspaces is
vital to meeting our world-leading climate change commitments.
Heat networks are an effective way of reducing carbon emissions
and this fund will enable us to accelerate the roll-out of these
cutting-edge and green technologies.
The scheme is also expected to fund the delivery of an estimated
9.7 million tonnes of total carbon savings by 2050 with the
independent Committee on Climate Change estimating that, with
continued support, heat networks could meet nearly 20% of overall
UK demand for heating by 2050.
CEO of the
Association for Decentralised Energy Lily Frencham said:
We’re delighted that the government is invigorating the
transition to zero-carbon heating across the UK that uses good
old-fashioned pipes and water to transport heat from green energy
centres to homes and businesses.
Heat networks offer the most cost-effective tried and tested way
of decarbonising our towns and cities and it is great to see
government’s continued support for the sector through the launch
of the Green Heat Network Fund.
Heat networks have a critical role to play in the UK’s net zero
future – and 2022 will be a crucial year for the heat networks
sector.
UK District Energy Association (UKDEA) chairman Simon
Woodward said:
The UKDEA is excited to
see the launch of the Green Heat Network Fund as another
significant measure to help support the growth of the heat
network sector.
The Green Heat Network Fund is the successor scheme to the
government’s Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP), which has
provided more than £250 million of funding for schemes across
England and Wales since 2018.
More than 20 heat network projects have
received HNIP funding,
including 2 innovative schemes in the North-East of England,
which source their heat from water in abandoned mine shafts and a
community-led project in Cambridgeshire, which could be a model
for other rural communities seeking to decarbonise their
heating.
Notes to editors
The Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) will be open to public,
private and third sector applicants in England. It will open for
applications on 14 March 2022 and is anticipated to run to 2025.
At present, there are over 14,000 heat networks in the UK,
providing heating and hot water to around 480,000 consumers.
The GHNF will be a key part of
plans to reduce carbon emissions from heating homes and
businesses by 2050 as it succeeds the Heat Networks Investment
Project scheme when it closes in March 2022.
Anyone wishing for further information on the GHNF can contact
the GHNF team via their
mailbox: ghnfcorrespondence@beis.gov.uk.
The Heat Networks Investment Project has focused on accelerating
the growth of the heat network market and has permitted fossil
fuel sources of heat provided they offer carbon reductions and
will be replaced by low-carbon alternatives over time.
The UK government has appointed Ofgem as the heat networks
regulator for Great Britain to ensure consumers receive a fair
price and reliable supply of heat.
