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Scottish DNOs launch first trial to decarbonise heat

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The Scottish government and two distribution network operators (DNOs) have launched Project Re-Heat, the industry’s first attempt to trial its response to the increase in electricity demand that decarbonising heat will create.

It is
anticipated that over one million Scottish homes will decarbonise their heating by 2030 by converting from fossil fuels to zero emissions systems such as heat pumps. This will place a much greater demand on the electricity system and it is therefore imperative that the networks can handle this.

The initiative is being trialled in East Ayrshire and East Dunbartonshire by SP Energy Networks, and in Highland by SSEN. It is the first time that DNOs have led a large-scale project of electrified heat.

Project Re-Heat will equip homes throughout the three local authority areas with 150 heat pumps from manufacturer Daikin. They will connect to thermal storage units from Sunamp that enable customers to be flexible regarding their heating energy demand.

It is hoped that the venture will produce technical and commercial solutions that can be extended across Scotland to increase the flexibility of heat demand.

£5mn has been provided to the Re-Heat project through various schemes, including £1.26mn from the Scottish government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme and £1.2mn from Home Energy Efficiency Programme for Scotland.

Spokespeople from the DNOs highlighted the importance of the trial for Scotland’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2045.

Scott Mathieson, Network Planning and Regulation Director at SP Energy Networks, said: ‘Achieving net zero emissions by 2045 will only be possible if we begin to work on real solutions to support the decarbonisation of heat now. Our electricity networks are at the heart of the transition to a low carbon Scotland, but we need to ensure they are able to cope with the significant increase in demand we’re projecting as more and more low carbon heating solutions are connected into our network.’

Stewart Reid, Head of Future Networks at SSEN, commented: ‘We have 7,500 heat pumps already installed on our network across the north of Scotland and anticipate this will increase to half a million by the middle of this century. The Re-Heat project will be vital to build our understanding of how we manage this cost-effectively and ensure our network is ready.’

Scotland’s Project Re-Heat has parallels with England’s Right to Heat project, also launched this week by UK Power Networks and others.

Right to Heat involves installing hybrid gas and electric boilers along with solar panels and batteries in up to 25 social housing homes across south-east England. The new heating systems will use less energy from the electricity network by combining solar power with a smart heating system that automatically switches between gas and electricity.

The project will serve as a template for decarbonising heating in social housing. This is important given that social housing accounts for around 15% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Homes across the country will increasingly switch to low carbon heating systems, with consequences for electricity distributors
Photo: UK Power Networks

News Item details


Journal title: Energy World

Region: UK

Countries: UK -

Subjects: Heat, Energy infrastructure

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