Data from British Gas and Electricity North West has revealed that Manchester and the North West generally are accelerating adoption of low carbon technologies like heat pumps.
The British Gas data showed that enquiries for heat pumps in Manchester are five times higher than the UK average.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme to subsidise heat pump uptake awarded £70 million in its first year, according to the government.
Manchester is aiming to become a zero carbon city by 2038, a goal which will require 116,000 heat pumps to be installed annually, according to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Manchester also accounts for 57% of total heat pump installations across the Greater Manchester area, followed by Bolton, Stockport and Bury, according to the British Gas data.
Switching to low carbon technologies such as heat pumps and solar panels in our offices and depots will help us reduce our own carbon footprint as we prepare to achieve net zero by 2038. Watch our📽️about heat pumps installed at our #Oldham depot and how they work #NetZeroWeek pic.twitter.com/vqQRBNW3HY
— ElectricityNorthWest (@ElecNW_News) July 4, 2023
Meanwhile, a survey of 500 businesses by Electricity North West has found that at least three quarters of businesses in the region have installed at least one energy efficiency measure such as LED lighting or insulation.
46% of businesses surveyed said that their main reason for using low carbon technologies was to cut costs, while a quarter said that cutting carbon emissions was more important to them than it was a year ago.
In April, Electricity North West said it was going to invest more than £2 billion over the next five years in improving the North West’s power network to enable the transition to a low carbon economy.
The number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the region’s roads has also doubled in the past year and is expected to continue growing fast, though it is still behind the national average.
