Upskilling Britain can drive the clean heat revolution
4 min read
This Labour government has ambitious plans to decarbonise heat and retrofit homes, but the stark reality is that without urgent action to address the looming skills crisis, we risk falling catastrophically short.
The challenge ahead is vast. Heating consumes over a third of the UK's energy, mostly from imported gas. We waste 391 TWh of heat annually — enough to meet a third of our electricity needs — yet only 3 per cent of heat demand is met by low-carbon networks, the key to unlocking this waste heat.
To meet the Committee on Climate Change’s target of 18 per cent of overall heat demand being delivered by heat networks by 2050, we need at least a fivefold increase in their coverage.
Yet, we could face a serious bottleneck — there aren’t enough skilled workers to build, install, and maintain the infrastructure required.
This isn't all bad news though, as the rollout of low-carbon heat networks across our urban areas presents one of the biggest opportunities for unlocking well-paid and high-skilled green jobs nationwide.
An aging workforce of specialists in this industry poses a big threat to its development. Research by the Association for Decentralised Energy found that a significant percentage of the current workforce is nearing retirement age. Twenty-eight per cent of heating installers are aged 55-64 and 10-20 per cent are planning to retire within the next decade. This demographic shift could deplete expertise when it is most needed. Possibly more worrying, only 6 per cent of gas engineers with transferable skills for the heating sector are under 35.
As we transition to clean heat — with heat pumps and heat networks becoming the two of the most important heating technologies — we will need heating engineers with expertise, capable of undertaking retrofit at a rate not seen since the adoption of central heating.
This opportunity could be a game changer for my constituents, offering young people and experienced workers alike a route into a growing green industry. The number of skilled workers in the oil and gas industry is predicted to reduce by 2030. Their transferable skills, with targeted upskilling, will be required to deliver the development of large district heating systems in our towns and cities. We’ll need an army of pipe layers and engineers to build underground networks, connecting homes to heat sources like power stations, giant heat pumps, or local ambient sources such as mine water.
My constituency of Washington and Gateshead South is already leading the way. Cenergist, which is based there, has been doing impressive work with its Lancaster Gate Heat Network. This project aims to provide clean heat to ten residential blocks at Lancaster West Estate (emotively the home of Grenfell Tower), benefiting around 750 homes. A central air source heat pump will be linked to upgraded pipework and heating systems.
Additionally, the Council-run Gateshead Energy Company operates Gateshead District Energy Network, providing heat from disused mines through underground pipes to customers across Gateshead town centre — already supplying 350 homes.
One of the most important things the government can do is give the industry policy certainty to ensure they can invest in green skills.
The Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF), which has provided government support for the development of new low-carbon heat networks, has unlocked this sector, demonstrating the role the government can play in catalysing investment in the green economy.
Heat network investment in the GHNF is already comfortably outperforming the Chancellor’s target of £3 of private investment for every £1 of public money. Forecasts suggest that the heat network sector could create 81,000 jobs by 2030 and the GHNF projects alone are projected to deliver 8,800 direct and 2,200 indirect jobs across the UK. Building on these successes by expanding the GHNF and using government’s new National Wealth Fund as an investment vehicle for the heat network sector could accelerate this transformational impact.
By addressing these challenges of decarbonising British heat head-on, we can pave the way for a more resilient and sustainable energy sector that benefits the British economy for years to come.
As a Vice President of ADE, I am positive and truly hopeful that a workforce revolution will ensue, ensuring this opportunity is not squandered.
The clean energy transition is fundamentally about people. If we fail to develop the workforce needed to deliver net zero, then all our ambitions will remain just that — ambitions. Now is the moment for decisive leadership. The future of UK heat decarbonisation depends on it.
Sharon Hodgson is Labour MP for Washington and Gateshead South.
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