Heat networks offer ready-made solution for Scotland
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A new study showing that existing renewable technology could be used to heat more than 450,000 homes in Scotland by 2030 has been published.
The research, commissioned by industry body Scottish Renewables, found 46 potential heat network projects across Scotland’s seven cities.
The networks would initially serve 45,000 homes but Scottish Renewables says that number could grow ten-fold by 2030, with the right Scottish Government support.
The industry body is calling on the Scottish Government to back the technology in its Heat Networks Bill, arguing that it has the potential to cut emissions from heat by 10 per cent and help tackle the climate emergency.
Heat networks deliver heat collected from sources as diverse as incinerators, rivers and sewers to buildings via a network of pipes underground. The technology is well established in other countries including Denmark, where the city of Copenhagen is entirely heated this way.
Scottish Renewables says the outlook for Scotland’s low-carbon heat industry is uncertain, with support schemes run by the UK and Scottish governments soon coming to an end, despite both declaring a climate emergency.
It is now calling on the Scottish Government to use its recently-announced Heat Networks Bill to address this uncertainty and to consider how to support the future growth of heat networks.
Fabrice Leveque, senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said: “Heat networks are a mature technology that will allow us to grow our use of renewable heat.
“The Scottish Government’s Heat Networks Bill should be at the heart of an ambitious strategy to stop Scotland from falling behind the rest of the UK in the deployment of this key climate solution.”
To date the Scottish Government has said the new Heat Networks Bill will “support, facilitate and create controls [for] the development of district heating” – but is yet to confirm the details.
In response to this ongoing uncertainty, the industry has published, alongside the new research, a set of recommendations on how the bill should support new projects.
Scottish Renewables says the potential projects represent a significant economic opportunity, citing the use of civil engineering such as the digging of trenches and laying of pipes which accounts for 40 per cent of a typical heat network’s costs, often using locally-sourced labour.
