Household boilers should be replaced with large shared boilers to heat multiple homes in Scottish cities, according to a group of MSPs, environmentalists and academics. They called on the Scottish government to encourage investment in “district heating” as part of a Warm Homes Act. District heating sees large boilers provide heat for entire districts through a network of pipes. The system is popular in several other European countries. The Scottish convention is for homes to have their own self-contained gas boiler – although there are some district heating schemes, including Caithness Heat and Power (Chap), which provides heat to about 200 homes and the local hospital in Wick. Environmental group WWF Scotland, the University of Edinburgh, heatpump manufacturer Star Renewable Energy and cross-party MSPs are behind the calls for district heating to be more widely used in Scotland.
BBC 31st May 2016 read more »
THE Scottish Government must prioritise a Warm Homes Act which helps deliver clean, affordable heat to homes, according to groups from the voluntary, renewable and academic sectors. The groups are urging new Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse to push through the right regulatory framework to develop district heating, a system for distributing heat generated in a central location. The call follows advice from the Scottish Government’s own experts that an increase in the use of the method would help meet targets on cutting fuel poverty and carbon emissions and boosting energy efficiency and economic development. District heating currently accounts for just one per cent of Scotland’s heat demand. If the country is to meet its climate targets, this must increase to 40 per cent by 2030, say WWF Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland and RSPB Scotland. The Scottish Government’s Special Working Group on Regulation reported in March that district heating could cut carbon emissions by around 30 to 40 per cent, with reductions in household bills being roughly about the same. The method was also found to have significant benefits for both the national and local economies, in terms of growing the country’s small but growing district heating sector. There is considerable cross-party agreement on warm homes and energy efficiency, with all the main parties having included the issue in the manifestos prior to the Holyrood election. It’s also an issue that has been discussed for over a decade with former Scottish Green Party Convenor Robin Harper having first proposed the idea in 2003. Now representatives from WWF Scotland, academia and the renewables sector are urging the Scottish Government to implement the regulation needed to bring clean, affordable heat netwo rks to the country’s towns and cities.
The National 31st May 2016 read more »
NICOLA Sturgeon should push ahead with the roll-out of Scandinavian-style district heating schemes as a priority, a coalition of groups said today. The First Minister went into the Holyrood election pledging a new Warm Homes Act in a bid to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency. A coalition including WWF Scotland, renewable energy firms and academics said new regulations should be included to help reduce carbon emissions and aid economic development through the roll-out of district heating.
Herald 31st May 2016 read more »