The UK government is aiming to expand shared heating systems as projects face financing and consumer-confidence challenges, with its Warm Homes Plan setting a 2035 target of at least 27 terawatt-hours, or 7% of heat use in England.
The plan says registered networks in England currently provide about 12.4 terawatt-hours of heat, equal to 3% of overall UK heat demand. These figures use different geographic measures, so they do not establish a direct comparison between the current share and the 2035 goal.
The plan also sets out an ambition for heat networks to provide around one-fifth of heating demand by 2050. Its technical annex describes a roughly 20% share of UK heat supply, however, so the government materials use different geographic scopes for the longer-term ambition.
A central source can send heat or hot water through connected pipes to several properties. Networks may use recoverable heat from rivers, data centers and energy-from-waste facilities.
At the ADE Heat Network Conference in Sheffield on Oct. 22, Minister for Local Energy and Jobs Martin McCluskey said the cost of low-carbon heat remains a barrier to growth. He said the government was assessing financing options, including a Regulated Asset Base model, without announcing that it had chosen to use it.
McCluskey said the government had allocated more than £200 million to 20 low-carbon projects through four Green Heat Network Fund announcements over the prior 12 months. In a separate Sept. 23 announcement, the government committed £90 million to new and upgraded networks. It projected that the funded projects would benefit more than 750,000 homes and create more than 2,000 jobs.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) brought its heat-network rules into force across Great Britain on Jan. 27. They cover billing, service, complaints and safeguards for vulnerable customers. The government says the protections cover more than 500,000 consumers. Ofgem’s director of heat networks, Helena Charlton, said too many customers face unclear bills and poor communication.
The government plans to launch a technical assurance scheme in 2027, with its final design still pending. The government and Ofgem also plan to publish a call for evidence on heat-network pricing by the end of 2026.
