£77m scheme to improve heat network efficiency • Heat pump electricity grid innovation project receives funding from Ofgem • UK Power Networks reaches 2GW flexibility milestone • Read more about the developments in sustainable heating and cooling in this month's news update from the UK
The UK government has launched a new £77 million funding round aimed at improving the efficiency of heat networks across the country. Part of an £80 million programme running from 2023 to 2028, the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) is now open for applications.
This initiative is designed to address inefficiencies in district and communal heating systems, which often lead to high costs and suboptimal performance for both customers and operators. The scheme is part of the government’s wider Heat Network Transformation Programme (HNTP) and follows a demonstrator phase which ran between October 2021 and March 2022.
Heating buildings accounts for 30% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, making it a priority sector for emissions reduction. While heat pumps are expected to play a major role in achieving net-zero targets, deployment rates remain far below set government targets. The UK installed just 98.000 heat pumps in 2024, significantly short of its 2028 target of 600.000 per year.
Heat networks are seen as another crucial solution, with the Climate Change Committee (CCC) recommending that they supply at least 18% of the UK’s domestic heat demand by 2050, up from just 2% in 2020. By improving efficiency in existing networks, the HNES funding aims to make heat networks a more attractive and viable alternative to fossil-fuel-based heating.
Read more in article from Edie
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has received £450,000 from Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund to accelerate the rollout of heat pumps across the UK through its new smart energy project. The Strategic Innovation Fund is a joint Ofgem and Innovate UK initiative, and aims to help transform gas and electricity networks for a low-carbon future.
The awarded SSEN project, EqualLCT, aims to optimise heat pump usage by scheduling power consumption during off-peak hours. This combined with complementary energy efficiency upgrades, like improved insulation, will substantially alleviate pressures on the electricity grid during peak hours.
SSEN will collaborate with energy experts Baringa and SMS to establish a proof of concept, with the goal of demonstrating the technology by the end of 2025. The initiative could lower consumer energy bills and reduce costly electricity network upgrades, making heat pumps more accessible, grid efficient, and sustainable.
Read more in article from air Quality News
UK Power Networks has surpassed 2GW of registered flex-assets on its Localflex trading platform, marking a significant development in Electricity grid flexibility. The platform, which enables businesses and homeowners to trade energy flexibility, now hosts over 100.000 assets, from large solar farms to smart EV chargers.
In the 2023-24 financial year, 7.8GWh of flexibility was dispatched, seven times more than the previous year, delivering an estimated £91 million in consumer benefits. Through these initiatives access to flexibility markets are expanded through lower participation costs, new auction formats, and a shift to the Localflex platform.
With growing intermittent renewable energy sources, and increased electricity demand, flexibility services are key to balancing the UK’s electricity grid. UK Power Networks’ efforts are strengthening grid resilience while making flexibility services more accessible and financially rewarding for participants.
Read more in article from Edie
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