Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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The Topic: Heat HEAT THE TOPIC 12 | 17TH - 23RD APRIL 2015 | UTILITY WEEK I t is clear that we need to largely elimi- nate carbon emissions from our build- ings as part of a least-cost transition to a low-carbon energy system. With 90 per cent of existing houses expected to still be in use in 2050, new low-carbon heating is needed for almost all of our 26 million homes, along with the extensive pipe and cable infrastructure and associ- ated developments in information and communications technology. The market cannot be expected to engage in such deliv- ery without the essential founda- tions of clear strategic direction, effective policymaking and proven business models. If transi- tion is to happen, there must be a period of intense activity in the next decade, a "preparedness phase" translating overall targets into plans for action, and deciding on the policy and regulatory requirements that build confidence in sustained investment. Policies are needed that recognise the two principal solution routes, with incentives that support predominantly electricity-based systems for individual homes or the shared resources for the heat networks that could be the favoured solution for many. This founda- tion should include a requirement for local spatial energy strategies as an integral com- ponent of the local planning process. We also need to learn by doing, and rec- ognise that the real challenges are not just technology based, but rather more about gaining public consensus and trust. What is needed here is a series of large-scale dem- onstration projects across the UK, which start to develop the supply chain and build the resources and momentum required to begin the transition. Meeting the objectives will then involve 25 years of sustained activity engaging many thou- sands of trained personnel. The importance of this preparation can- not be overemphasised, because a lack of market confidence and delay in building the necessary momentum will inevitably lead to higher costs driven by harder pressed resources, along with missed targets and business opportunities. Jeff Douglas, strategy manager, smart systems and heat, ETI What next? With so many bodies having recently set out their stalls for the future of heat technology and policy, the critical question remains, what needs to happen now in order to move towards these visions? Jeff Douglas suggests some pragmatic next steps. November 2011 Non-domestic RHI scheme The scheme is designed to bridge the gap between the cost of fossil fuel heat installations and renewable heat alternatives through financial support for owners. March 2012 The future of heating: a strategic framework for low carbon heat The strategy describes what the government believes needs to be done for decarbonising heat to contribute to meeting carbon budgets and the 2050 target. March 2013 The future of heating: meeting the challenge The strategy sets out specific ac- tions to help deliver low-carbon heating across the UK in the decades to come, focusing on four different aspects of the heat challenge: industrial heat, net- worked heat, heat in buildings, and grids and infrastructure. November 2014 The water source heat package A package of actions designed to overcome the barriers to deployment of water source heat pumps. January 2015 Heat Network Delivery Unit The government unveils the win- ners of a £7 million competition to boost innovation in the heat industry, drive down energy bills and cut carbon emissions in the UK through the Heat Network Delivery Unit. February 2015 The domestic RHI scheme comes into force The domestic RHI is a financial incentive scheme designed to encourage uptake of renew- able heating among domestic consumers. The domestic RHI is targeted at, but not limited to, homes off the gas grid. TIMELINE The recent develop- ment of UK policy towards heat "We need the energy efficiency offer to be bold, inspiring and comprehensive. And we need it to include the renewable heat drive too." • Energy Secretary Ed Davey told a sustaina- ble building conference in March that efficiency must be coupled with renewable heat. "The integrated technology we are pioneering here could be replicated in existing and new district heating schemes right across the country." • Eon's head of community energy Jeremy Bungey on the utility's plans for a community-wide low carbon heat network "If our government in general has been power-obsessed for the past decade, now heat is about to get its rightful place." • Decc director of heat networks Guy Boulby "New low- carbon heating is needed for almost all of our 26 million homes along with the associated infrastructure"