Heat network plan in Worthing backed by £500m in funding
The Worthing Borough Council in West Sussex has secured £500 million of investment from Hemiko to develop a heat network that will provide climate-friendly heating to every building in the town by 2050.
The Worthing Heat Network was identified by the council as the most cost-effective and efficient way to decarbonise the town’s buildings, as outlined in its Carbon Neutral Plan. The network will collect unused heat from local sources, convert it into hot water, and distribute it to connected buildings through an underground network of pipes. By utilising this system, buildings can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for heating and hot water, thereby reducing their heating emissions by approximately 90%.
At the initial Worthing Heat Network Energy Centre will be a heat pump system, collecting heat from the air. Over time, the network will bring on more and more sources of locally available, wasted heat.
The use of heat networks is anticipated to grow significantly over the next 25 years as the next UK utility. They currently supply heat to around 3% of UK buildings, but this is projected to reach at least 18% by 2050. In the right places, heat networks are around 40% cheaper than individual air source heat pumps.
The first phase of the network will connect mostly large public sector buildings. The first phase alone is expected to save over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, the equivalent to taking 2,000 cars off the road. It will also create around 40 local jobs. By 2050, Hemiko expect the network to have created up to 500 jobs.
The first phase of Worthing Heat Network received over £7m of funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Heat Networks Investment Project. This unlocked £40m of investment from Hemiko, and they plan to invest in the region of £500m by 2050 as the network expands.
Construction is scheduled to commence in July this year, with the first buildings expected to be connected by summer 2025, including Worthing Town Hall, Worthing Hospital, the Assembly Hall, Portland House, Worthing Museum & Art Gallery, and the Connaught Theatre. The heat network will then expand from there.
Hemiko has worked on heat networks projects across the country – this is the company’s third project in West Sussex alone. The business is rolling out this offer countrywide – it has £1 billion of investment to deploy into town- and city-wide low carbon heat networks by 2030.
Cllr Sophie Cox, Worthing’s Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, comments:
“The Worthing Heat Network is an exciting development in our transition to low carbon heating and an important milestone in our mission to be a carbon neutral council by 2030 and a net zero borough by 2045. “I’m really looking forward to the council working alongside Hemiko on the next stages of the project and bringing low carbon heating to the residents and business of Worthing.”
Toby Heysham, CEO at Hemiko, says:
“We’re incredibly proud to have been selected as Worthing Borough Council’s partner for the Worthing Heat Network. It will be an invaluable piece of infrastructure for the local community, not only because it will cut the town’s emissions significantly and improve public health, but it will also offer jobs, apprenticeships, and a hub for innovation and investment into the town.”
