Heat networks major catalyst in delivery of Government’s 2035 Industrial Strategy
The Association for Decentralised Energy
Combined authorities across Great Britain could see up to £95 billion worth of investment through heat networks
Combined authorities across Great Britain could see up to £95 billion worth of investment by decarbonising the heating of homes and buildings through heat networks.
That’s according to the Association for Decentralised Energy’s (ADE) latest research, that explores the potential of heat networks and the value they could provide across nine combined authorities in Great Britain.
Heat networks are a system of underground pipes that distribute heat from a central source to multiple buildings – this central source could be heat harvested from rivers, waste plants or even the transport such as metro systems. Supplying heat in this communal manner is much less emission intensive and much more efficient.
Combined authorities with heavy industry within their vicinity could benefit the most from this scale of roll out, particularly if they have ambitious net zero targets. One report shows that Tees Valley could see up to £1.52 billion investment to deliver 1.46TWh of heat to private non-domestic buildings. The ADE states that such ambitious delivery could be essential in the region’s ambitions to establish a net zero industrial cluster by 2040.
The ADE says that if the ambitious scale tested in these reports are met, heat networks could be a major catalyst in delivering the Government’s 2035 Industrial Strategy. The trade association emphasises that this extends beyond net zero targets. ADE Research suggests that unless combined authorities move at pace to decarbonise the heat in their buildings, jobs could be at risk and billions of pounds worth of investment could be delayed, or not seen by the communities that need it most.
Freddie Wilkinson, Senior Policy and Data Analyst at the ADE, who conducted the research, says “The ambitious deployment of heat networks to meet our net zero targets would turbocharge investment across all regions of the UK. For every GWh of heat decarbonised by a network, £1m of investment can be brought in. Heat networks are a brilliant vehicle for deploying the low-carbon, strategic technologies the government wants to champion through its industrial strategy. There is amazing potential not just to meet our climate goals, but to significantly boost local growth and investment across the country.”