The government have announced a new £270 million Green Heat Network Fund that is open to public, private and third sector applicants in England. The funding will support low-carbon technologies like heat pumps, solar and geothermal energy in the roll out of the next generation of heat networks which will enable more towns and cities to take up this technology from 2022.

Heat networks supply heat to buildings from a central source, avoiding the need for households and workplaces to have individual, energy-intensive heating solutions, such as gas boilers. At present, there are over 14,000 heat networks in the UK, providing heating and hot water to around 480,000 consumers.

An assessment of the potential for future heat networks to be sited across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has also been published. The study identifies opportunity areas that could be best-placed to support future heat network projects and how much heat could be supplied by them.

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