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20 | 11TH - 17TH MARCH 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Roundtable The Future of Heat House of Commons, 2 March 2016 Heat is a hot topic Heating accounts for a huge amount of energy use, yet policymakers largely ignore it. Jane Gray reports from a House of Commons roundtable debate on the future of heat. I t is now fairly well reported that the vast majority of our national energy use is expended on heating buildings, and that plans mooted to decarbonise this energy pathway by electrifying heat are unfeasible – mainly due to the huge variability in sea- sonal demand for heat and the redundancy this would require in the electricity system. So if widespread electrification is not the answer, then how do we define the future of heat? This was the question addressed by a group of industry and policy leaders at a recent roundtable debate hosted by Utility Week and the Energy Networks Association in Westminster. Responses to invitations for this event were overwhelming and the num- ber of senior individuals around the table is a reflection of just how hot a topic heat has become. A high proportion of those present came from the gas distribution industry and they were keen to articulate that a transformed gas distribution network could and should continue to play an important role in the future of heat. Several chief executives of gas distribution network companies attended to communicate how innovation schemes tri- alling the introduction of new gas composi- tions and sources of green gas could provide reliable low carbon heat, both directly to consumers' homes and to district heating schemes. Crucially, though, none of those present argued that gas is likely to remain as domi- nant as it is today as the primary source of heat for buildings in the UK. A much more blended future, including greater deploy- ment of district heating, was agreed to be both inevitable and desirable. The challenge lies in ensuring that the blend is both cost effective and practical. It was also observed that heat pathways should be developed in tandem with other aspects of energy and that synergies should be sought between gas, power, heat and transport challenges. Policy has a role to play here, and it was acknowledged by MPs at the table that political attention for heat has been lack- ing. Industry criticised the abandonment of the Zero Carbon Homes initiative and said that any scope the Energy Company Obliga- tion might have had to support clarity on the future of heat has disappeared with the scheme's increasing focus on fuel poverty. Alongside criticism, however, it was also widely acknowledged that developing effective policy for the future of heat infra- structure is complicated. It must support significant retrofit as well as simple solutions for new development, and it must appreciate that – to a far greater degree than electricity – heat is a "user-led" energy vector. Policy must therefore find a way of sup- porting consumers in making informed decisions about their heating options – all the while acknowledging that the options available are dependent on individual cir- cumstances. The most likely way of achiev- ing this flexibility, it was broadly agreed, will be by devolving more powers for local energy planning and decision-making to local authorities. This, however, would bring its own challenges in terms of building nec- essary skills and expertise. Finally, it was clear that those around the table thought more independent information is needed about the cost and practicality of implementing different heat solutions. Some GDNs have produced significant findings in this arena as a result of government-funded initiatives. But nonetheless, the evidence base for the cost implications of a variety of heat scenarios is thin. Chris Train, director of gas distri- bution, National Grid "Now when people talk about the future of gas there's a ten- dency to talk about decarbonisation of generation and what that means for gas as a fossil fuel. But of course the primary use of gas is for domestic heat." Views from the top table: Dr Keith Maclean, industry chair, Energy Research Partnership "Design of the system is really important. We need to look at heat as part of the wider system – not treat it in isolation as we have done with electricity. And what- ever we design needs to be able to deal with the challenge of sea- sonal heat demand."