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NETWORK / 15 / DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018 T his is proving to be a year of symbolic rsts on the UK energy system's road to its low carbon destination. One weekend in March, there was so much distributed solar PV on the system that the amount of electricity demanded of the grid was, for the rst time ever, lower during the day than it was during the night. In April we saw our rst day without any coal power since the 1880s. And in September o‚ shore wind pro- jects were awarded contracts at record-low strike prices, challenging new gas on cost competitiveness. This is the energy transition happening before our eyes, it builds on a decade of tremendous progress in the power sector, something that's crucial as large parts of our economy will in future be shi… ing onto the grid. But we have yet to see comparable mile- stones in relation to low carbon heat. Heat accounts for about 40 per cent of UK energy consumption and about 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, the ma- jority from residential use. Reducing heat emissions is therefore non-negotiable if the UK is to reach its climate targets. At present only about 2.5 per cent of heat comes from low carbon sources, compared with more than 45 per cent for electricity. The Committee on Climate Change believes UK heating must be virtually zero-carbon by 2050. This is not for want of solutions, many of them increasingly cost e‚ ective, even in a country with such a mixed housing stock and large dependence on a natural gas dis- tribution system for heating and cooking. Recent work by the Energy Technologies Institute estimates for example that the UK could save up to £30 billion through the adoption of district heat networks, supply- ing heat to homes and businesses through pipes carrying water heated using waste heat from power stations and large-scale heat pump deployment. Transformation taking place The Energy Institute's recent Energy Barom- eter survey found a majority of UK energy professionals foresee a gradual transforma- tion of the sources of heat used in the UK. While gas is expected to remain the dominant heat source, its share is predicted to decrease from 70 per cent in 2015 to 55 per cent in 2030. Interestingly there was signi cant variation between the survey's respondents – with previous assumptions about heat decarbonisation being achieved by way of electri cation being superseded by a multiple technology approach involv- ing bioenergy, hydrogen, solar thermal, waste heat and heat pumps. This perhaps re˜ ects uncertainties following a period of frozen government Warming up low carbon heat HEAT "Sixty per cent of energy professionals believe policy to date on developing low carbon heat has had either a negative or negligible effect." policy. Sixty per cent of energy profession- als believe policy to date on developing low carbon heat has had either a negative or negligible e‚ ect and a majority see the need for new nancial incentives and mandatory standards in this area. But despite the uncertainties, the mood of the low carbon heat industry remains con dent. The upside of a challenge this big is the scale of the market opportunity, and it was clear from November's Heat and Decentralised Energy conference, hosted by the EI and the Association for Decentralised Energy, that this industry will be the next big player in the UK energy system's journey to low carbon. The conference heard from a BEIS rep- resentative about the recent Clean Energy Strategy, which gave renewable heat a welcome shot in the arm. Longer term options The existing Renewable Heat Incentive is already being refocussed on longer term de- carbonisation options such as heat pumps and biogas. It will spend £4.5bn to support innovative low-carbon heat technologies in homes and businesses by 2021. A new £10m innovation programme will support new heating technologies in homes and com- mercial buildings and policy is proposed to phase out installations of high-carbon fossil fuel heating in homes not connected to the gas grid. But more heavy li… ing is needed on low carbon heat. The Clean Growth Strategy recognises the need to set out further detail, which is promised over the next 12 months. That's an opportunity for industry, to help an interested Government ll in the gaps. Almost 10 years on from passing the Cli- mate Change Act, the UK has so far met its statutory carbon targets. Emissions are now 42 per cent lower than the 1990 baseline. But from here on in the task gets more complex. Reaching the … h carbon budget of a 57 per cent cut by 2030, and deliver- ing on our commitments under the Paris Agreement, will require real and concerted inroads into decarbonising how we heat our homes and power our industries. Louise Kingham, chief executive of the Energy Institute (EI), surveys the prospects for low carbon heat.