Gas is, for all intents and purposes, a dirty word. Every local authority, energy supplier, business, building owner or consumer is looking at the fundamental ways we can decarbonise to meet our net zero targets – with a heavy focus on transitioning away from fossil fuels, especially in heating.

But one thing we can't overlook in the energy transition and how we decarbonise heat, is heat networks. If you have an existing heat network or communal heating systems fuelled by gas boiler or CHP, then don't view them as a problem – these systems can very much support the energy transition and become a huge value proposition in decarbonising your local area especially in light of proposed zoning and legislation.

As an organisation that has built and operates several heat networks across the country, we have pioneered the development of ‘sleeving' heat to supply low carbon energy.

Sleeving enables existing and new buildings connected to heat networks to be supplied with heat generated by low carbon technology and uses the carbon factor associated with that lower carbon heat source, rather than using an average emissions factor for the entire network. This allows carbon savings from the introduction of new lower carbon heat sources (such as heat pumps) to be immediately recognised supporting the supply of decarbonised heat to specific buildings on the network.

This supports networks to recognise the value of new low carbon generation through enabling growth, investment cases and ultimately help the network to start to decarbonise and transition away from gas. Putting a heat pump into a heat network energy system means you can get more out of that heat pump that you would otherwise if supplying an individual building. Furthermore, the combination of a heat pump alongside existing gas assets means that smaller heat pumps can be installed while still meeting the majority of heat demands reducing both capital and operating costs.

The industry-wide support we received has led to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero confirming sleeving may be treated as an acceptable means of carbon accounting and sleeving has been included in the Green Heat Network Fund for bringing new connections on to existing networks.

A heat network is a complex system, and it can't be decarbonised overnight. But there are smart, efficient, and beneficial ways they can adapt, such as sleeving, and support the net zero energy transition.

Charlotte Large is strategy and decarbonisation director, EQUANS UK & Ireland

This article is sponsored content for The MJ