Worthing Borough Council has partnered with heat network investor Hemiko to provide climate-friendly heating to every building in the West Sussex town by 2050.
Heat networks work by collecting unused local heat, turning it into hot water, and distributing that hot water to local users via underground pipes.
This will enable connected buildings to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for heating and hot water, reducing their heating emissions by around 90%.
The first phase of Worthing Heat Network received over £7 million of funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Heat Networks Investment Project. This triggered £40 million of investment from Hemiko, which plans to invest in the region of £500 million by 2050 as the network expands.
The initial Worthing Heat Network Energy Centre will be a heat pump system that collects heat from the air. Over time, the network will bring on more and more sources of locally available, wasted heat.
The first phase of the network will connect mostly large public sector buildings and create around 40 local jobs. By 2050, Hemiko expects the network to have created up to 500 jobs.
These could potentially contribute to the 35,000 jobs the Heat Networks Industry Council estimated are required to enable heat networks to supply around a fifth of the UK’s heat by 2050.
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.
Toby Heysham, CEO at Hemiko, said: “We are 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 also because it will offer jobs, apprenticeships, and a hub for innovation and investment in the town.”
Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance, said: “Ambitious projects like this in Worthing are why the UK is a world leader when it comes to reducing carbon emissions.
“We awarded over £7 million to Worthing Borough Council to help get the project off the ground, and I’m pleased to see they now have a partner in Hemiko to deliver a scheme that will benefit the whole town by delivering cheaper energy bills and lower carbon emissions.”
