The UK’s first system drawing heat from deep underground to provide low-cost heating for nearly 4,000 homes is one of 7 innovative projects backed by government funding.
- 7 state-of-the-art heat network projects across England awarded government funding
- UK’s first system drawing heat from deep underground will be built to warm nearly 4,000 homes, schools and a leisure centre
- projects will help homes and businesses ditch oil and gas boilers – cutting costs and reducing carbon emissions
The UK’s first system drawing heat from deep underground to provide low-cost heating for nearly 4,000 homes is one of 7 innovative projects backed by government funding on Friday 12 May.
The Langarth Deep Geothermal Heat Network will involve drilling to a depth of 5,275 meters to extract the heat from granite rocks beneath the United Downs Industrial Site in Cornwall.
It is one of 7 state-of-the-art heating systems that will receive a share of £91 million from the government’s Green Heat Network Fund.
Heat networks take heat found underground or use excess heat generated through manufacturing or waste management, and supply heating and hot water to homes and businesses through a connected network.
This allows them to ditch fossil-fuel burning gas and oil boilers, which helps cut costs and reduce carbon emissions. The projects will boost the UK’s energy security and independence and help delivering on the government’s commitment to grow the economy – with the schemes expected to create hundreds of new, skilled jobs.
Among the 7 ground-breaking projects to benefit from the latest round of funding are:
- the development of a heat network in Goole, using excess heat generated by a local manufacturing plant to supply heating to local homes and businesses, creating 40 jobs
- the expansion of a heat network in East London to supply heating to 2 new developments in and around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, serving around 500 new homes and 250 non-domestic premises
The Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) is a £288 million scheme that opened in March 2022 to public, private and third sector applicants in England and is anticipated to run to 2025. It replaced the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) scheme which closed for applications in January 2022.
The funding, announced by the government today, will pave the way for low-carbon technologies – like air source heat pumps, which extract heat from the air, solar and geothermal energy – to be delivered at scale and established as a central source of energy in this country.
In February, the government also launched the £32 million Heat Network Efficiency Scheme to make vital upgrades to old and inefficient heat networks and provide thousands of homes in England and Wales with cheaper, greener energy.
The government is also taking action to regulate the heat networks market through the Energy Bill. The Bill will appoint Ofgem as heat networks regulator, with new powers to investigate and intervene where prices for consumers appear to be unfair. The legislation also provides the Department’s Secretary of State with powers to introduce a heat networks price cap should it be necessary to protect consumers.
