ADE welcomes £24m Government funding for heat networks

The Association for Decentralised Energy today welcomed the award of £24 million for 9 heat network infrastructure projects, saying the investment would deliver more affordable heating, local infrastructure investment, and jobs.

Four projects in London, two in Manchester and one each in Sheffield, Crawley and Colchester will receive a share of the £24 million to support construction.

A further £200k has been awarded to four local authorities to develop plans for heat networks in Trafford, Islington, Buckinghamshire and Middlesbrough with the view to creating a pipeline of high quality projects ready to compete in future rounds.

The money represents the first round of £320m in funding set aside by Government to support affordable, low carbon heat from new heat network infrastructure.

Welcoming the announcement ADE Director Dr Tim Rotheray said:

“This investment in heat networks will bring considerable benefits for local authorities and their communities, boosting the local economy through the creation of skilled jobs and infrastructure investment while giving householders and business access to future-proof low carbon, affordable heat.

“All of these projects will be lead by local authorities, helping their communities take control of their energy bills, generating heat and power locally, and using a range of efficiency and renewable technologies.

“The Government’s £320m commitment over this Parliament is vital to develop this new UK industry, and will secure hundreds of millions of pounds in local infrastructure investment and new skilled jobs. Alongside this commitment, industry is developing new compliance requirements to ensure the highest standards in building and operating networks. The industry has also recently launched a new expert Task Force to come up with proposals that will help enable network investments and ensure customers always get a great deal.”

Source: Association for Decentralised Energy