ADE urges government to establish new district heating policy

The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) has appealed to the next government to establish a new district heating policy to unlock a potential £1.6 billion worth of investment.

ADE director Tim Rotheray said yesterday’s announcement that the government will award a further £3 million funding to local communities to set up heat networks represents a “significant achievement”.

He added that the planned 180 heat network feasibility projects in England and Wales could, if built, “prompt a capital investment to the tune of £1.6 billion”.

However, he warned that without stable policy, some of the projects may never get past the “lines on a page” stage.

“It will be vital that a new government puts in place an investable district heating policy to give local authorities the support they need to take these projects through this tricky next stage,” he said.

The latest £3 million investment brings the total heat network feasibility project funding pot to £9.4 million, with 180 projects expected to benefit from government grants.

Heat networks are designed to provide heat to clusters of buildings through a system of insulated pipes carrying hot water which eliminates the need for individual homes and businesses to generate their own heat. Heat is distributed from a central location from sources such as rivers or mine water, biomass, energy from waste or recovered heat.

It is estimated that approximately 15 per cent of UK heat demand could be met by heat networks by 2030 and more than 40 per cent by 2050.

In July last year, a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research urged city and local authorities to support and invest in local generation schemes, which could “rival the big six energy companies” through decentralised generation.

In a recent debate, former climate minister Greg Barker urged the government to give greater precedence to on-site renewables over “distant renewables in places where there are no customers”.