Unlocking flexibility revenue from district heating

A heat network, or district heating scheme, supplies heat to multiple buildings from one or more central energy centres through insulated underground pipes, rather than each building running its own boiler. 

 

Heat networks currently supply around 3% of UK heat, and government expects that to reach roughly a fifth by 2050. As new schemes are built around heat pumps and electric boilers rather than gas, they are becoming significant electricity consumers — and that changes what they are worth to the grid.

Great Britain's electricity system increasingly pays for demand that can move rather than demand that is fixed, with NESO projecting a need for 25–45 GW of within-day flexibility by 2030. 

 

Heat networks are unusually well placed to provide it, because they combine large electrical loads, controllable generation and thermal storage in a single system. For many operators, the opportunity is a matter of controlling existing assets differently rather than investing in new plant.

The brochure covers which assets can provide flexibility and what their impact can be, the GB market routes a heat network can access, how heat supply stays protected throughout, and what flexibility changes about capital cost, revenue mix and the investment case.

Written for heat network operators, developers, local authorities and ESCOs running or planning a scheme, and for the funders and investors behind them. Enel X manages market participation end to end, so heat supply remains the priority throughout.