Enfield council’s district heating company, Energetik, will receive a £1.2M share of the Mayor of London’s Green New Deal fund!
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn, has launched the first £10m of his Green New Deal as part of London’s COVID-19 recovery plan. This investment will provide economic stimulus for London’s green economy by allocating grants to projects delivering sustainable decarbonisation solutions to tackle the climate emergency.
The £1.2M funding package allocated to Energetik will be used to finance two decarbonisation efforts; a strategic network expansion of the Meridian Water heat network, and a first-of-its-kind retrofit trial.
Firstly, a total of £750k will be used to increase the size of pipework across the upcoming Meridian Water heat network, thus improving future capacity. With works due to begin in early 2021, the Meridian Water heat network was initially intended to supply 10,000 homes and businesses with low carbon heat and hot water generated at the Edmonton Eco park. This new funding will considerably increase distribution capacity and provide the required infrastructure to supply the borough of Haringey with 20MW of low carbon energy in the coming years, essentially making Energetik the architect of a multi-borough heat decarbonisation operation.
The remainder of the £1.2M allocation will be used to finance a retrofit pilot project which will allow Energetik to demonstrate how existing housing can be decarbonised. Energetik will connect a number of existing residential properties to the heat network and in doing so, provide key insights for retrofit connections at scale. This will support Enfield council’s decarbonisation strategy for existing buildings going forward. Therefore, not only will this project benefit the Enfield Council’s road to net-zero, but further, Energetik will focus on providing an established methodology and retrofit delivery model that can be rolled out and implemented across the country.
With all objectives seamlessly aligned with Enfield’s Climate Action Plan 2020 and Energetik’s expansion ambitions, this announcement is an extremely encouraging step forward for Energetik, residents and businesses of Enfield as well as neighbouring councils.
Jayne Clare, Managing Director at Energetik said:
“We’re delighted to receive this funding which will be spent in two distinct areas. The first element will allow us to pilot and establish a methodology for retrofit connections at scale. Space heating and hot water accounts for over 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions and is one of the biggest challenges to decarbonising the UK. This project will help Energetik retrofit future-proofed, very low carbon heating infrastructure to existing homes to supporting Enfield and London with its decarbonisation targets.
In addition, we’re very pleased to receive funding which will support the creation of a cross-borough, large scale heat network in north London. By providing our neighbouring boroughs with the same low-carbon heat we have access to, we are able to directly assist in their local decarbonisation plans.”
Enfield Council’s Deputy Leader and the Chair of the Borough’s Climate Change Task Force, Cllr Ian Barnes, said:
“This is great news for Enfield and great news for the environment, it will make a significant contribution towards achieving our goal of making Enfield carbon neutral by 2040 and will provide a welcome boost to the borough’s economy. We have been working in partnership with energetik to encourage the company to apply for external funding to enable them to expand their operations and that hard work has been reflected in the grant secured. We will continue to work with a range of partner organisations to deliver the infrastructure and services in Enfield that will contribute towards tackling the climate emergency which is currently facing the world and we will continue to play our full part in building a greener, more sustainable borough now and in the future.”
Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues said:
“This project is a fantastic example of the ambition of the Mayor’s Green New Deal fund. Energy used to heat and power homes is responsible for around one third of the capital’s greenhouse gases, so low-carbon heating solutions have a crucial role in tackling the climate emergency and making London a zero-carbon city by 2030.
“We know that one in nine London households is unable to meet the cost of heating its home. Projects like this will provide green and affordable heat to improve living conditions for thousands of Londoners. This scheme will also support the jobs and skills of the future for Londoners and the industries that are crucial to meeting our city’s climate targets.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Green New Deal
The Green New Deal is a key mission of the London Recovery Programme. Read more about this programme of work, the London Recovery Board and each of the recovery missions. https://www.london.gov.uk/coronavirus/londons-recovery-coronavirus-crisis/recovering-coronavirus-it-begins-you
About Energetik
Energetik is Enfield Council’s energy company, set to supply over 15,000 homes and businesses in North London with low carbon heat through a series of community heat networks. With a company vision to revolutionise the local energy market and be the supplier to trust, Energetik’s heat networks will provide better value energy that’s reliable and environmentally friendly.
The networks are being rolled out in key regeneration areas of Enfield and are designed to adapt so they can expand to supply more homes and businesses and utilise different heat sources as they become available.
