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The investment from the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero (DESNZ) will be used to upgrade 94 heat networks, including replacing leaky pipes, insulating pipework to minimise heat loss and replacing heat interface units (HIUs) in homes so that residents have more control over their heating.
In Bristol, £13.5m is being allocated to expand the Bristol City Leap heat network, which will use heat pumps to deliver fossil-free heating to more homes and businesses. According to the Government, the expansion will help create more than 1,000 jobs, apprenticeships and work placements.
Rochdale, meanwhile, will benefit from £1m of the funding, earmarked for the development of a heat network that transports heat from a sewer going through the town. This will provide low-carbon heat to colleges, schools, Rochdale Infirmary, businesses and residential buildings, including social housing.
“The conflict in the Middle East has shown once again why we must get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and onto clean, homegrown power we control,” said Minister for Energy Consumers Martin McCluskey. “Heat networks will play a crucial role in that shift, lowering bills for whole communities while strengthening our energy security. That’s why we’re upgrading old and inefficient systems and investing in modern, low-cost networks fit for the future.”
Related article: ‘Getting off the fossil fuel rollercoaster’: UK sets out long-awaited measures to decouple gas and electricity prices
Warm Homes Plan
The funding follows on from the Government’s Warm Homes Plan, published in January 2026, which seeks to upgrade UK homes in order to reduce energy bills and combat fuel poverty across the country.
As part of the plan, the Government has pledged £195m a year for the Green Heat Network Fund and £15m a year for the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme. Heat networks, where multiple structures are warmed from a single heating source, including from excess heat generated at sites like data centres, offer an efficient and low-cost way to provide essential heating.
94 existing networks will be upgraded using the new funding, including Salford, Solihull and London.
Other capital is going towards the continued development of the King’s Cross Heating and Cooling Network in London, which serves over 1,700 homes and 44 buildings using heat pumps. Another new heat network, meanwhile, will be built in Warwickshire, redistributing waste heat from the Baddesley Energy from Waste facility in order to warm 1,700 homes.
“Low-carbon heat networks work, they work for hospitals, they work for charities, and they will work for over 10,000 residents who will now see lower bills,” explained head of the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE): Heat Networks, Chris Unsworth. “This funding will reach the strongest anchors in our communities – the places that can’t afford to be left behind. We now need to go further to fix every legacy heat network, connect every public institution that could benefit and unlock the full potential of heat networks.”
Related article: What Does the Green Economy Think of Government’s Warm Homes Plan?
