Gemserv has announced that the government’s Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) is now open to applicants in England and Wales.
The £32m grant support programme is designed to support improvements to existing district heating or communal heating schemes that are not performing to their maximum efficiency, resulting in poor outcomes for customers and operators, a statement said.
The scheme is set to run until 2025 and follows on from the HNES Demonstrator. The Demonstrator ran from October 2021 to March 2022 and saw significant interest from local authorities, housing associations and private heat network operators. HNES aims to address issues identified in previous work by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which outlined how some consumers are detrimentally being affected by sub-optimal heat networks with lower efficiencies, resulting in increasing fuel costs, it added.
Lord Callanan, business and energy minister, said: “This £32m boost will provide thousands of homes in England and Wales with cheaper, greener energy through upgrades these heat networks desperately need.
“We’re investing in new heat networks, but it’s just as important to maintain and refurbish existing systems to ensure all customers can benefit from reduced energy use and household bills.”
Louise Singleton, principal consultant at Gemserv, added: “Owners and operators of heat networks in England and Wales face a number of barriers to improving the efficiency of their schemes and as a result some customers are not getting the experience we would expect.
“The launch of the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme is really exciting and we hope it will increase consumer trust and drive-up standards across the sector. We are delighted to be supporting applicants on their HNES journey alongside our partners Ramboll, Turner and Townsend and Lux Nova. We are looking forward to meeting with applicants and seeing the projects in the pipeline come to life.”