£9.4m on offer for green heat technologies

The first is a £7m initiative that will offer energy suppliers the chance to compete for funding to develop new heat network technologies, such as energy-from-waste or recovering industrial heat.

Developer’s bids and ideas will be assessed on technical feasibility, commercial viability, future carbon saving and social benefits.

Heat networks generate thermal energy at a central source then disperse it to various buildings through insulated pipes. Heat production on this communal scale is more energy efficient, delivers carbon savings and can reduce consumer bills through more competitive wholesale fuel prices.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: “Recovering wasted heat from industrial plants or landfill sites means we can heat our homes and businesses more efficiently, as well as helping to drive down energy bills

Local authorities

Alongside this scheme, the Government also announced it is offering £2.4m to 32 local authorities across England and Wales to encourage them to adopt and develop heat networks.

“Improving the way we heat our buildings and helping local authorities fund innovative and more efficient ways of supplying lower carbon heat will also reduce our dependency on costly, imported gas,” added Davey

There are approximately 2,000 heat networks in the UK at the moment, supplying heat to 210,000 dwellings and 1,700 commercial and public buildings.

Estimates show that around 15 per cent of UK heat demand could be cost-effectively met by heat networks by 2030 and over 40 per cent by 2050.

Yesterday DECC announced it was disqualifying large solar farms from the Renewables Obligation subsidy, which prompted a ferocious backlash from the solar industry.

Brad Allen