Decarbonising heat is one of the greatest challenges within any sustainability strategy. It’s an area where, just like in the home, the options are relatively limited and tend to be expensive.
Nevertheless, we know that energy managers and sustainability directors are keen to explore this hard to abate spot within their estate. Last week we ran a webinar on this and over 500 people registered to attend, demonstrating that not only is the demand high but there is a desire for the industry to gain additional knowledge on how to include heat pumps into their strategy.
Modern heat pump technology allows businesses to utilise onsite renewable energy sources to go beyond traditional air and ground source heat pump technology to create cost effective, carbon abating methods of providing heating.
There are five key benefits to introducing heat pump technology within your estate:
1. You can dramatically reduce carbon by switching your heat source from gas to electric
2. They can be commercially attractive and add a layer of resilience to your business
3. Engineered correctly, you will see a decrease in your energy spend
4. They are recognised as a source of renewable heat and are eligible for support under the renewable heat incentive
5. There are wide range of options which means while the design process is difficult, it means that it’s possible to be exact with site requirements.
At the moment, electricity prices are high while gas prices are historically low. For most heat pump applications this makes the economic case difficult. But, accessing the right grants and financial support and having the right partner on board can help navigate this challenge.
We see an opportunity around the very rapid decarbonisation of the grid. The proliferation of renewables has been so successful that, over the next year or two, average grid electricity will become less carbon intensive than electricity produced by natural gas.
This means there is a fantastic opportunity to use subsidy schemes available at the moment, to help fund heat pump schemes. Additional targeted Government support is available in the form of the Industrial Emissions Transmission Fund (IETF). This is for energy intensive sectors and will provide grant funding for applications received over the next three months.
There has also been an extension of the Renewable Heat Incentive, which will now run until April 2021 for new entrants and April 2022 for schemes that meet certain conditions.
Centrica Business Solutions will help you identify the feasibility of any heat pump opportunity. Heat pump projects are typically front end heavy in terms of engineering and commercial analysis and design. We typically take the risk upfront and carry out this project due diligence in-house.
We work with a number of different manufacturers to ensure that we design the best solution for individual businesses. This technology agnosticism ensures that we’ll utilise the right type of technology for your specific application, rather than the right technology for the manufacturer.
We offer a full design, installation, enablement and operation and maintenance service with the right financing to ensure that projects can be kept off the balance sheet if necessary. Time is tight though, with just a three month window for funding applications for the IEFT, now is the time to get your heat pump project off the ground, a quick win on the road to net zero.
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