Issue link: https://read.utilityweek.co.uk/i/665572
NETWORK / 14 / APRIL 2016 hosted by Utility Week and the Energy Networks Association in Westminster. Interest in this event was overwhelming and the number of senior individuals around the table reflected just how hot a topic heat has become. Those from the gas distribution networks (GDNs) were keen to articulate that a transformed gas network could and should play an important role in the future of heat. Thanks, in part, to ongoing gas mains replacement projects, the infrastrucutre is now increasingly ready to support a more flexible and diverse gas grid and several GDN chief executives communicated how innovation schemes trialling the introduction of new gas compositions and sources of green gas on the network could provide reliable low-carbon heat. Importantly though, none of those present argued that the gas grid as we know it will remain dominant in domestic and commercial heating. Instead, it was unanimously agreed that a much more blended future, including greater deployment of district heating, some electric heat pumps and low-level deployments of other technologies is both inevitable and desirable. One attendee made a strong case for a bigger role for geothermal technology. Others advocated greater deployment of combined heat and power units - this technology has been deployed at scale in Denmark, a global leader in heat market development (see right). Formulating a cost effective and practical framework for this kind of blended approach to heat will, however, be difficult. Not least because different heat solutions will be appropriate in different scenarios, and because support for flexible heat solutions will need to dovetail with other elements of energy policy. Focussing on policy, participants broadly criticised the government for failing to Sound biteS: "Now when people talk about the future of gas there's a tendency to talk about decarbonisation of generation and what that means for gas as a fossil fuel. But of course the primary use of gas is for domestic heat." Chris Train, director of gas distribution, National Grid "District heating is viable and is appropriate in certain areas. But our research shows us that of the existing 2,000 or so district heating schemes around the UK today, most of them are sourced from gas, so this is not a question about moving away from gas as the primary source of heat." Graham Edwards, chief executive, Wales and West Utilities "Design of the system is really important. We need to look at heat as part of the wider system – not treat it in isolation as we have done with electricity. And whatever we design needs to be able to deal with the challenge of seasonal heat demand." Dr Keith Maclean, industry chair, Energy Research Partnership "There's no investment framework for heat networks. If we are going to build the right network in the right place and accept that we are likely to have a multiplicity of networks and approaches then we need to make sure that there is a level playing field on which investors can decide which infrastructure options are best for them." Tim Rotheray, chief executive, Association for Decentralised Energy "In Denmark heat is seen as a utility in its own right. That is not the case here but it is a cultural shift that needs to be achieved by industry and government." James Heappey MP, member of the Energy and Climate Change Committee (Conservative) "There are different energy approaches and it depends on which levers government wants to pull whether certain markets will be a successful as they could be. So is there a desire in government for this?" Angus MacNeil, chair, Committee for Energy and Climate Change "Our Ofgem-funded innovation projects in Oban and Kent, I think, secure the future of gas as the primary heating fuel." John Morea, chief executive, SGN