Public, private and third sector organisations in England can access capital grant funding to help new and existing heat networks move to low and zero carbon technologies, such as heat pumps, solar and geothermal energy.

The Government has announced a new Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) to support low-carbon technologies like heat pumps, solar and geothermal energy. The scheme is supporting the rollout of the next generation of heat networks, enabling more towns and cities to take up this established technology from 2022.

The scheme will incentivise new and existing heat networks in England to move away from high-carbon sources, as well as exploiting waste-heat opportunities while bringing down costs for consumers. Applications will only be supported if they include low-carbon heat-generating technologies, such as heat pumps, waste heat and energy from geothermal sources.

This capital grant programme aims to stimulate the growth of low-carbon heat networks that will support the delivery of the UK’s 2050 climate change commitments and expand the current heat networks supply chain. During the programme’s lifetime, an estimated 10.3Mt of total carbon savings are expected to be made by 2050; the equivalent of taking 4.5 million cars in England off the road for a year.

The scheme’s objectives are to:

• Achieve carbon savings and decreases in carbon intensity of heat supplied.
• Increase the total amount of low-carbon heat utilisation in heat networks (both retrofitted and new heat networks).
• Contribute towards market transformations across the investment landscape and supply chain that will better prepare the heat network sector for further decarbonisation.

How To Apply

The GHNF main scheme opened its first application round on 14 March 2022. This will be followed by quarterly rounds until the scheme closes in 2025.

Deadlines:

• Round 1: 27 May 2022
• Round 2: 30 September 2022
• Round 3: 30 December 2022
• Round 4: 31 March 2023
• Round 5: 30 June 2023
• Round 6: 29 September 2023
• Round 7: 29 December 2023
• Round 8: 29 March 2024
• Round 9: 28 June 2024
• Round 10: 27 September 2024
• Round 11: 27 December 2024

Applicants will be required to submit detailed project documentation in addition to their completed application form, to provide evidence to support their application.

For more information, visit the GOV UK website.