Joseph Scott, delivery director at Vattenfall Heat UK, explains what the industry gain from proposed Heat Network Zoning legislation.
Last month, the UK government published its response to a consultation on Proposals for Heat Network Zoning. This proposed legislation from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will not only change the way that energy systems are developed for new and existing properties, but also represents a huge opportunity for the construction industry worth £60bn-£80bn over the next 15 years.
In the energy sector this was highlighted as a positive step forward, but in the construction sector it may have been missed. Ultimately, the proposals, also now included in the Energy Security Bill, mean that specific areas in towns and cities will be made into designated heat network zones. This means that any building within that zone, new or existing, will have to connect to a district heating network at some point in the future.
Key facts about zoning
The zones will be set out nationally but managed by local authorities who will be given the powers to mandate connection.
The networks will be tendered to the market for investors and asset developers to bid to develop and operate these networks in the long term.
The government is kicking these zones off with incentives for early connection in the form of grants – supporting the up-front capital investment needed to get the heat networks off the ground (Green Heat Network Fund).
Large sources of waste heat in those zones (water treatment works, energy-from-waste facilities, data centres) will be obliged to sell their heat to the network operator.
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