The government has asked stakeholders for views on how best to deploy its £320m capital funding for building heating projects.
The £320m fund was announced in last autumn’s spending review. Decc plans to run the first funding round as a pilot scheme and has proposed to limit applications for the pilot phase to local authorities and public sector bodies.
Amber Rudd, secretary of state for Decc, said: “We have announced record investment in new heat networks, to enable new and innovative ways of heating our homes and businesses…. All these commitments remain in place. They will help us rebuild our energy infrastructure.
Tim Rotheray, director of the Association for Decentralised Energy said: “Today’s restatement of the Government’s commitment to district heating infrastructure investment is a welcome sign to the decentralised energy community. The need to cost effectively decarbonise heat in the UK, deliver local infrastructure investments, and make heat more affordable remains imperative. Today’s statement reaffirms that this Government sees district heating as having key role to play in these ambitions.
Decc’s new consultation seeks views on :
A. Who should be eligible to apply directly for the capital funding?
B. What should the Heat Networks Investment Project provide capital funding for?
C. Through which funding mechanisms should the capital funding being deployed?
D. What decision-making criteria should be used to assess the capital funding applications?
E. How we should the impact of the scheme be monitored?
Read the full consultation here: Consultation on the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP)
Stakeholders (including current and potential heat network sponsors, investors, and supply chain) can respond online or email [email protected] before 3 August 2016 at 11:45pm.
Read more expert coverage:
MPs to investigate 2020 renewable heat and transport targets
INTERVIEW: Keith MacLean, UKERC “Telecoms is a much better model for electricity and heat infrastructure and where it is likely to go.”
Subscribe to New Power for full analysis, comment, interviews and data in our monthly report, and access to our database, or sign up to our FREE e-newsletter for website updates Not a subscriber? Email [email protected] to see if you qualify for a trial subscription.