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LOCAL AUTHORITIES Bristol says that, if you're build- ing a new office development in the city centre, you have to con- nect to the heat network. That applies to new developments and retrofitting." Currently, the district heating system is using "low-carbon" biomass as its fuel source, but Dudd describes this as a "tran- sitional" fuel." The city has also recently invested £7m in a water source heat pump – powered, of course, by renewable electricity – which will draw heat from the water in the city's docks. District by district Bristol is certainly not alone in developing district heat net- works: Manchester is develop- ing a £20m city centre project with Vital Energi to supply major civic buildings; Leeds is planning a similar project, also with Vital Energi; West Dunbar - tonshire Council, near Glasgow, is installing two 2.5 MW water source heat pumps in the Clyde to supply heat to university and civic buildings in Clydebank. Meanwhile, there are cur - rently around 85 projects hoping NETWORK / 20 / DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 tion between suppliers, and a separation between supply and distribution. "The important thing is the network of pipes, which we think the city needs to control, then the supply of heat would be separate. The owner- ship of the pipes needs to be with an accountable place, and then the market is structured around the supply of heat." He also foresees that community energy groups operating a heat pump, for instance, might be able to sell into the network. "No other city has at- tempted this – the government are watching and other local authorities are watching," Dudd confirms. While it's unlikely that Bristol's experiment will single- handedly shi" the structure of energy ownership in the UK, it is certainly hoping to forge a new path and provide a model that others can follow. to share £320m in funding from the government's Heat Network Investment Project, although only a fraction are underway. The key to making Bristol's heat network a success, Dudd believes, is to ensure competi - Potential Investment Opportunity Estimated Investment Value over 10 years Heat Networks £300m Smart Energy System £125m Domestic Energy Efficiency £300m Commercial Energy Efficiency £100m Renewable Energy £40m Monitoring, Dissemination and Evaluation £10m Transport Additional Hydrogen Additional Marine Energy Additional Total £875m Bristol's wish-list: extract from the City Leap Prospectus FROM SUBSTATION TO CONSUMER Find out more at sandc.com FROM SUBSTATION TO CONSUMER IMPROVE YOUR NETWORK FOR TOMORROW