Thames heat main for up to 650,000 London homes gets £41m from government

Ministers have awarded £41 million to a heat network that would run under and alongside the River Thames. They say it could supply low-carbon heating to as many as 650,000 homes in the capital.

The money for the London Strategic Heat Main comes from a £90 million pot shared between several projects. It is drawn from two government funds, the green heat network fund and the heat network efficiency scheme. The scheme is already being developed but still needs planning permission.

Which London boroughs the Thames heat main will reach

The first phase would pass through seven boroughs: Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Lambeth and Westminster, along with the City of London.

The route could grow later. Tower Hamlets has been named as a possible addition. So have Barking and Dagenham, as well as Kensington and Chelsea.

Until a purpose-built tunnel under the river is running, the water will travel by boat. At first, electric barges will carry it 15.5 miles along the Thames every day. Once the tunnel opens it will take over, circulating heat to homes and businesses along the route. The pontoons that hold the water tanks could also be turned into “Thames Floating Gardens”, creating new green space.

Ministers say the scheme will help unlock around £5 billion of investment in the capital’s heat networks. They also expect it to bring skilled jobs, among them tunnel work and river transport. Energy minister Martin McCluskey said: “Clean power and clean heat benefit communities across our country.”

How heat networks work and what else London gets

Heat networks warm several buildings at once from one system. They reuse surplus heat from sources such as data centres or factories and pipe it around as hot water.

Other, smaller London schemes are also getting money. A network being developed in Bexley and Greenwich, which would serve up to 100,000 homes when complete, receives £11.5 million. Another £11.4 million goes to a system in the Marble Arch area. It will use water-source heat pumps drawing on the chalk aquifer that lies beneath London. The warmth will go to buildings around Oxford Street, from homes and offices to hotels.

Across all the projects sharing the £90 million, the government hopes the funding will cut household bills and create more than 2,000 jobs.