Chapter Summary

The first step in saving money on energy bills and reducing CO 2 emissions will be to reduce the amount of energy we use. However this alone will not allow us to meet our four objectives for this strategy. We have already explained in Chapter 3 how we are supporting renewable heat at all scales through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). But we need also to consider community and larger-scale solutions for generating heat cleanly and efficiently, whether this is using fossil or renewable fuels.

Advice, and support with costs, will help individual households take action to save energy and to lower their emissions. District heating, in particular, has already been shown in the UK and on the Continent to offer the potential for some communities to receive low carbon heat, at comparable or lower costs than conventional heating. The Government is committed to supporting action which allows communities to realise the benefits of low carbon energy, and is keen to identify whether more should be done to support the development of district heating. We are setting out a number of possible measures aimed at tackling key barriers to district heating. These include considering changing regulation, enhancing the role of local authorities and improving the supply chain. We will be convening a Summit on Community Energy and Heating with local government leaders to start the process of facilitating the development and expansion of district heating. We are also proposing to set up a Heat Markets Forum, with representatives from the Government, the energy industry and consumers, to assess the various types of arrangements for heat supply and to identify those areas where we may need to do more to protect consumers or to build market confidence, for example through developing industry codes. The supply of district heating to residential consumers is a particular area that the forum will consider.