Savills
Summary
The UK has all the heat it needs to achieve the government’s ambition of 20% of domestic heat from networks by 2035, against a current level of 3%. It can be recovered easily from sources mentioned above, as well as by air source heat pumps. Pipework in streets is just another utility.
It seems strange, given our concerns about climate change, energy security and balance of trade, that in cities around the UK there are, for example, energy from waste plants with huge cooling systems releasing 70% of the energy they generate as heat to the atmosphere. Meanwhile tankers full of LNG and LPG sail into Milford Haven and elsewhere, laden with gas from the US and the Middle East, and what we pay for to keep ourselves warm in the winter is influenced by geo-politics.
Putting two and two together challenges the UK way of doing things. It is social investment and requires a co-operative approach. Returns in financial terms can be significant during periods of price spikes in fossil fuels but are not spectacular when it has to compete with cheaper gas imports. The bigger advantage is in price certainty and energy security.
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