Over £30 million in funding will benefit homes and businesses in three communities to deliver low-carbon heat and help consumers move away from fossil fuels, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) says.
Projects in Hull and Peterborough are the first to secure funding through the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF), a £288 million government funding scheme launched in March 2022.
The Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) opened to public, private and third-sector applicants in England and is anticipated to run until 2025.
The two cities will receive more than £27 million from the total funding allocation to support initiatives that deliver clean heating to households, offices and commercial and public buildings while reducing energy bills and carbon emissions at the same time.
The BEIS says the GHNF funding will “pave the way” for low-carbon technologies, like heat pumps, and solar and geothermal energy, to be delivered at scale and established as a central heating source.
It’s vital that we invest in cutting-edge technologies that move us away from heating our homes and businesses with carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
The Government expects the scheme to reduce emissions equivalent to taking 5.6 million cars off the road for a year.
In Wigan, more than £2.6 million has been made available through one of the final awards from the £320 million Heat Networks Investment Project, which was succeeded by the GHNF this year after running since 2018.
Peterborough Integrated Renewables Infrastructure will receive £14.406 million for a scheme that will use the burning of non-recycled household waste to generate electricity and heating.
In Hull, £12.957 million has been awarded towards a heat network that will reduce carbon emissions by more than 2,000 tonnes per year, which the BEIS says will deliver an additional 22GWH of electricity to 46 public and private sector customers.
Wigan Council has secured £2.655 million from the Heat Networks Investment Project to develop a ground source heat pump system, which the BEIS says will provide heating and hot water to a new £190 million redevelopment project in the town centre.
I’m delighted to see that ground-breaking projects will be developed at pace to the benefit of communities.
Councils will now also be offered streamlined access to the UK Infrastructure Bank’s £4 billion local authority lending product as part of the GHNF application process, the BEIS says.
Commenting on the funding, Energy Minister Lord Callanan said: “It’s vital that we invest in cutting-edge technologies, like heat networks, that move us away from heating our homes and businesses with carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
“I’m delighted to see that, through the Green Heat Network Fund, ground-breaking projects will be developed at pace to the benefit of communities, moving us away from soaring energy bills and delivering cheaper greener energy.”
