24 local authorities across
England and Wales have been awarded more than £2.1 million to support the
development of heat network projects
Minister for Energy and Climate
Change Greg Barker today announced the latest round of successful projects
through the Heat Networks Delivery Unit that will provide heating to local
homes and businesses through new projects using a range of low carbon
technologies, including energy from waste or recovered heat taken from
industry.
Each project is designed to
provide more efficient heating to buildings which can help to drive down
consumers’ heating bills and reduce emissions.
Energy and Climate Change
Minister Greg Barker said:
This is another step the
Coalition Government is taking to help drive down the long term cost of energy
bills. Heat networks are a defining part of our smarter, cleaner energy
future.
Local authorities are looking at
innovative ways to supply low carbon heat to a range of buildings such as
multi-storey apartments, office buildings and social housing.
Since the first round of funding
at the end of January 2014, interest from local communities has grown with more
than 50 local authorities so far receiving grants ranging from £15,000 to
£250,000 each.
As part of the funding, councils
will be given commercial and technical support and guidance, including
assistance in developing robust business plans to help attract commercial
investment to supply heat efficiently and cost-effectively to homes and
businesses.
All bids were reviewed by a
panel of engineering, financial and commercial experts with significant
experience in heat networks development. Bids were assessed against a range of
criteria including technical feasibility, commercial viability, future carbon
saving and social benefits.
The remaining pot of grant
funding, worth £7m in total, will be allocated through subsequent funding
rounds, running to March 2015. Round 3 opens on 12 May 2014 and closes on 27
June 2014. The successful third round of local authorities will be announced by
in August-September 2014.
Notes for
Editors:
-
Heat networks supply heat to a
number of buildings or dwellings from a heat generated at a central source and
supplied through a system of insulated pipes. Heat production at this communal,
rather than individual scale, is more energy efficient, delivers carbon
savings, and can reduce consumer bills. Modern heat networks allow individual
properties to control their own temperatures just as they would with other
heating sources.
-
The Government’s Heat
Network Delivery Unit was established in September last year with a £7
million fund to promote heat networks. Grant funding is accompanied by support
from experts in the Unit to assist local authorities develop investment grade
proposals for heat networks.
The winning 24 local authorities
for Round 2 are:
- Allerdale Borough
Council
- Bath and North East Somerset
Council
- Blaenau Gwent County Borough
Council
- Bridgend County Borough
Council
- Copeland Borough
Council
- Cornwall
Council
- Devon County
Council
- East Riding of Yorkshire
Council
- Hull City
Council
- Knowsley Metropolitan Borough
Council
- Leeds City
Council
- London Borough of
Camden
- London Borough of
Hackney
- London Borough of
Merton
- Manchester City
Council
- Neath Port Talbot County Borough
Council
- Newcastle City
Council
- Sefton Metropolitan Borough
Council
- Sheffield City
Council
- Staffordshire County
Council
- Stoke-on-Trent City
Council
- Warrington Borough
Council
- Westminster City
Council
- Wiltshire County
Council
-
Details of how to apply for
funding under the heat networks funding stream can be found here. Along with the successful Local Authorities from Rounds 1 and
2.
-
An estimated 15% of UK heat
demand could be cost effectively met by heat networks by 2030 and around 40% by
2050. The recent report by the Committee on Climate Change agreed with DECC
that heat networks can play an important part of the overall plan for lower
carbon heating in the decades ahead. There are currently approximately 2,000
heat networks in the UK, supplying heat to 200,000 dwellings and 1,500
commercial and public buildings. A further 150 schemes are known to be under
development by local authorities across the UK.