Low carbon district heating schemes in London, Bristol, Rochdale, and Atherstone will today receive a share of over £25 million from the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF).
Today’s news follows the announcement that the GHNF will from Round 12 begin accepting applications from projects in Wales, recognising the success of the scheme and its importance to expand low carbon heating for homes and buildings to meet our net zero targets.
We are delighted that today’s funding announcement will go towards supplying low carbon heat to over 3,500 homes. Additionally, the heat networks supported in today’s round will decarbonise older listed buildings, local art galleries, museums, supermarkets, hospitals, and more across England.
The GHNF will continue to play a vital role throughout the delivery of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan, and today’s news provides just a snippet of the impact the GHNF can have to decarbonise local areas, while delivering new green jobs for generations to come.
Martin McCluskey, Minister for Energy Consumers, said:
“The conflict in the Middle East has shown once again why we must get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and onto clean, homegrown power we control.
“Heat networks will play a crucial role in that shift, lowering bills for whole communities while strengthening our energy security.
“That’s why we’re upgrading old and inefficient systems and investing in modern, low-cost networks fit for the future.”
Ken Hunnisett, Head of Clean Heat at Triple Point, said:
“What strikes me about today’s announcement is the sheer variety. Waste heat from black bin reprocessing in Atherstone, sewer heat in Rochdale, expanded city-wide networks in Bristol and King’s Cross, collectively serving hospitals, listed buildings, art galleries, supermarkets, and over 3,500 homes.
“That breadth is exactly what the Warm Homes Plan needs: not a single silver bullet, but proven big infrastructure working across entire communities, delivering benefits to the people who live and work in the vicinity of each and lowering the cost of our transition away from a gas economy. The GHNF is enabling all of that and more, place by place and project by project.”
Bristol Temple Quarter (£13.5 million construction funding)
Vattenfall, as part of Bristol City Leap, has been awarded £13.5 million to construct the Temple Quarter heat network project. The project will bring together the existing Temple, Old Market and Redcliffe heat networks into one connected system.
The integrated network will make full use of the existing low carbon water source heat pump at Castle Park and prepare for a future connection to the Bath Road Energy Centre once developed, supporting long term expansion.
There are currently 35 buildings connected to the Bristol heat network, and these are supplied with enough heat for the equivalent of almost 13,500 homes. New connections are underway, with up to four planned within the next year.
The project also includes the development of a Semi-Permanent Energy Centre (SPEC): an air source heat pump system designed as a “plug‑in” solution. This will initially provide heating to the University of Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Centre Academic Building, which is already connected to the heat network.
Once the Bath Road Energy Centre is operational, the SPEC can be moved and reused elsewhere, offering a flexible way to deliver low carbon heat where it is most needed.
It has been estimated that Bristol City Leap will deliver a minimum of £61.5 million in social value to the city over the next five years, including over 1,000 new jobs, apprenticeships and work placements, including a new Community Energy Fund worth £1.5m. So far, the partnership is on track to meet this with a total spend of £36 million.
Dom Barton, Director of Bristol Heat Networks at Vattenfall, said:
“Our vision is that over half of all Bristolians living, working and learning in the city will be kept warm by the Bristol heat network by 2050. We’re pleased to be awarded this funding as a welcome step closer to connecting the current individual heat networks in Bristol to become one citywide heat network. This is critical infrastructure that will provide reliable low carbon heating and hot water to local homes and businesses.”
King’s Cross (£8.6 million construction funding)
The King’s Cross Group has secured £8.6 million in construction funding from the Government’s Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) to support the next phase of the King’s Cross Heating & Cooling Network. The funding will help decarbonise the established heat network, serving one of the UK’s most established mixed-use neighbourhoods.
The King’s Cross Heating & Cooling Network serves more than 1,750 homes and 44 buildings. Its reliable, low-carbon energy supports everything from workplaces and homes to cultural venues and public spaces.
The funded project will support the transition of the network through a combination of ground and air source heat pumps, electric boilers and heat recovery from the existing cooling system, resulting in lower-carbon heating and cooling infrastructure.
Magnus MacAulay, Head of Portfolio Operations at the King’s Cross Group, said:
“With energy markets more volatile than ever, at scale investment in clean energy builds resilience, providing a double win on security of supply and decarbonisation.
“In partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the funding means we can move faster in building lower-carbon heating and cooling infrastructure for homes, workplaces and public spaces across the estate, while also helping support the decarbonisation ambitions of our occupiers.”
Atherstone heat network (£2.2 million commercialisation and construction funding)
Vital Energi is receiving £2.2 million for a heat network that will provide low-carbon heating to the proposed 1,700 homes in Atherstone, North Warwickshire. The project will harness waste heat from the Baddesley Energy from Waste facility located nearby.
Construction of the network is set to begin in Spring 2027, with ‘heat on’ expected later in 2028. The network is also planned to connect to Aldi’s national headquarters in phase 1 of the network’s phased construction process and future connections are currently being explored to ensure the network is embedded into the wider Atherstone community.
The heat network is a £22.5 million+ strategic infrastructure project, with resilience provided through backup electric boilers if required during peak times. The project is also set to bring a number of new jobs to Atherstone, including local jobs and 120 jobs across the country.
Scott Lutton, Operations Director at Vital Energi, said:
“We look forward to commencing work on the proposed heat network in Atherstone, delivering a low‑carbon, resilient source of heating for new homes and local buildings by capturing heat from black bin waste that would otherwise go unused. This project is about future‑proofing the town’s energy infrastructure while creating jobs and long‑term benefits for the community.”
Rochdale Town Centre (£1 million commercialisation funding)
Rochdale Borough Council has been awarded £1 million commercialisation funding for the Rochdale Town Centre district heat network. The project will connect 28GWh of low carbon heat to public, private and residential buildings across Rochdale Town Centre.
The heat network will harness heat from the local sewer, with construction planned to start in 2029. The network will initially be backed up by gas boilers, before eventually moving to a fully electric system.
The network will provide low carbon heat to buildings in Rochdale, including the leisure centre and the council’s main offices No 1 Riverside and its Grade 1 listed Town Hall. The network is also set to connect to a local art gallery and museum, local colleges & schools, Rochdale Infirmary, social housing and more.
The project is part of Rochdale’s wider plans to regenerate Rochdale Town Centre, which includes the rail station corridor and brownfield site redevelopment to provide new homes, a new public park, community facilities and retail outlets. Funding provided to the Rochdale heat network will also help to unlock new local and UK-wide jobs, while supporting a number of apprentices.
Ben Greenwood, Head of Policy, Performance and Improvement at Rochdale Borough Council, said:
“As well as contributing towards the Greater Manchester target of 90 GWh capacity of low carbon heat networks active (420KtCO2) by 2038, the Town Centre Heat Network project is an important regeneration and economic development opportunity for the borough.
“The town centre heat network is one of the key actions set out in the council’s Climate Change Action Plan. It is an exciting project which will contribute to the council’s objective to become carbon neutral in line with the ambition for Greater Manchester as a whole”.