Heat Sources
Across our regions, abundant sources of untapped heat, such as waste incineration, industrial processes, surface water, and geothermal reserves, are waiting to be harnessed.
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT.
Using waste heat is a transformative opportunity to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels while building a resilient, affordable, and future-proof energy system.
Energy Security Starts
Beneath Our Feet.
To make this vision real, future commercial and industrial developments must be required to build in heat recovery and offtake systems from the outset. Heat should no longer be treated as a waste byproduct, but as a strategic local energy supply, captured, stored, and redistributed through heat highways and green heat grids.
Unlocking the Potential of Freely Available Heat.
Councils, local authorities, and governments can lead the way by identifying and cataloguing heat sources within their constituencies, while fostering partnerships with industries and stakeholders. To achieve this vision, it is crucial for new and future commercial enterprises to design in heat recovery and offtake solutions from the outset, ensuring surplus heat is captured and effectively utilised.
View Our Heat Heroes Cards
RESILIENT ENERGY STRATEGIES
FURTHER READING
FAQ
According to the content, the abundant sources of untapped heat across regions include waste incineration, industrial processes, surface water, and geothermal reserves.
By 2035, UK data centres are on track to generate enough waste heat to heat more than 6 million homes, but only if the right infrastructure is put in place to capture and transport it.
Regional-scale heat transmission infrastructure, or Heat Highways, is the mechanism for transporting waste heat over long distances.
Linking renewable electricity with heat networks and thermal storage becomes a powerful tool for the future UK energy system.
Across Scandinavia, heat networks are treated as long-term public infrastructure, often owned by municipalities or community bodies and operated for the benefit of the people they serve, in contrast to the approach in the UK.
