The Government takes the role heat pumps can have in driving down carbon emissions very seriously and BEIS are currently supporting heat pump deployment via both the Domestic and Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. As per May 2020 the total number of Non-domestic RHI accredited applications was 2,057 and 57,817 in the Domestic RHI.

The Clean Heat Grant scheme announced at Budget 2020 will provide targeted support from 2022 to help households and SMEs install heat pumps. The Green Heat Network Scheme will also provide support for heat pump installations in heat networks and the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund will support heat pumps providing process heat. These policies have been designed as part of a broader package of measures to support the decarbonisation of heat. The Government intends to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy later this year, which will set out the wider actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings.

In 2018 the Department published Clean Growth-Transforming Heating, a comprehensive review of the evidence available on the transition towards low carbon heat on each sector of the economy.

The Heat and Building Strategy, which is planned to be published later this year, will build on this evidence and set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings. These actions include the deployment of energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating technologies as part of a wider programme of work on how we will make progress towards decarbonising all homes and buildings. We are developing policies to deliver low carbon heating in the 2020s and meet our climate targets, which will we consult on.

The Government is planning to publish a cross-departmental Heat and Building Strategy later this year, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings. These actions include the deployment of energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating technologies as part of a wider programme of work on how we will make progress towards decarbonising all homes and buildings.

Waste heat capture can play an important part in the decarbonisation of heat, specifically when used in heat networks. In its 2015 assessment the Committee on Climate Change suggested that waste-heat recovery should be contributing a third of heat supply to heat networks by 2050 in order to meet our net-zero target.

The Government recognises that waste-heat is a cost-effective form of low-carbon heat. In the Budget on 11^th March the Chancellor announced a new £270m Green Heat Network Fund. This will fund large-heat pumps, solar thermal installations and waste-heat recovery in heat networks between 2022 and 2025; and we will be consulting later this year on scheme design.

The Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, has a very clear focus on the challenges and opportunities involved in decarbonising heat in buildings. This included announcing:

• Improving standards of the 1.2 million new boilers installed every year in England and requiring control devices to help people save energy;
• Phasing out the installation of high carbon fossil fuel heating in new and existing buildings during the 2020s, starting with new build properties; and
• Government’s intention to consult on:

• Improving the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings (subject to the conclusions of the independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety);

• Raising minimum standards of energy efficiency for rented commercial buildings;

• Exploration of voluntary building standards and how these might support improvements in the energy efficiency performance of business buildings.

The Department will set out more detail during 2018, engaging with industry representatives, consumer groups and other stakeholders to ensure a broad cross section of viewpoints are taken into account when formulating policies in these areas.