The Government has released initial details of its Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) which will open to applicants in England from April 2022 and is anticipated to run until 2025, incentivising new and existing heat networks to move away from high-carbon sources.

With decarbonising heat set as a key part of the Government’s heat and buildings strategy, the new fund is intended to replace the existing Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) that has been available since 2018.

The £270 million GHNF will only support low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps, solar and heat recovery in the rollout of the next generation of heat networks. The intent is to help cut carbon emissions from domestic and commercial building heating – which accounts for 21% of the UK total – making it one of the country’s largest carbon emissions sources.

Heat networks, supplying heat to buildings from a central source, are intended to provide large-scale renewable and recovered heat. The GHNF will only support applications if they include low-carbon heat-generating technologies, such as heat pumps and waste heat with the aim of incentivising and kick-starting the demand for heat pumps as part of a wider mix of low-carbon heating options.

Although heat networks currently meet approximately 2% of the overall UK demand for heating, the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has estimated that, with continued support, they could provide 18% by 2050.

The Green Heat Network Fund is expected to fund the delivery of an estimated 10.3Mt of total carbon savings by 2050.

The responses to the GHNF can be read here.

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