Local Energy Accelerator
The Local Energy Accelerator (LEA) funding and support programme is now closed. The Zero Carbon Accelerator is the successor to LEA.
For capital funding for heat networks, please consider applying to the UK Government’s Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF). This GHNF is a capital grant fund that supports the development of low carbon heat networks and is eligible to organisations in the public, private, and third sectors in England. The Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) provides grants to increase the efficiency of heat networks Apply for the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) - GOV.UK.
The Mayor’s Green Finance Fund offers low cost loans to finance capital works. There is also the London EDGE - SDCL | SDCL fund, part-funded by the Mayor, which provide a comprehensive ‘energy-as-a-service’ solution by combining the expertise and finance needed to support the development, construction and operation of energy efficient and decentralised energy projects.
The London Heat Map, an online tool, is regularly updated to help inform heat network projects. If you have any queries related to the London Heat Map, please email [email protected].
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Background
Heating and powering London’s buildings accounts for around two thirds of the city's carbon emissions. The Mayor's Local Energy Accelerator (LEA) funded expertise and support to mainly public sector organisations between November 2020 and March 2024 to develop clean and local energy generation projects and reduce their carbon emissions.
Projects supported included district heat networks that use renewable/waste heat sources (including heat from the ground and waste/recoverable heat), and low-carbon energy technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels and energy storage. Some case studies from funded projects are included on this webpage. Some of the LEA reports have been published; see the published reports.
The LEA also funded the London Waste Heat Study and the River Thames Study, as detailed below.
London Waste Heat Study
In order to support the development of district heat networks in London, LEA produced a London Waste Heat Study. It used data from the London Heat Map, and other publicly available sources, to identify the size, nature and location of London’s main recoverable waste heat sources and illustrate the opportunity that they provide for developing strategic multi-borough heat networks.
This study focuses on London's largest known recoverable waste heat sources: Energy Recovery Facilities, Sewage Treatment Plants and Data Centres, and illustrates how they could catalyse the development of seven strategic multi-borough heat networks.
These are indicative modelled heat networks and are intended to illustrate the opportunity that London's waste heat resource provides. They give an indication of what heat networks using those waste heat sources could look like and provide the impetus for London Boroughs to create partnerships that explore the opportunity further. It has also informed the sub-regional Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP) Local area energy planning in London | London City Hall process that is currently being undertaken by the GLA.
The report estimated that these seven strategic heat networks could deliver as much as approximately 40 million tonnes of carbon savings for London over the next 40 years, but to realise this it will require the installation of a considerable amount of pipework with a potential cost of around £2.3bn.
The findings suggest that each of the seven strategic multiborough heat networks identified were commercially viable at this high-level feasibility stage, and deserve to be looked at in greater detail to better understand the opportunity they represent.
Waste Heat Strategic Areas summary
River Thames Study
This report complements the ‘Waste Heat Strategic Areas’ report as part of the strategic work undertaken by the Local Energy Accelerator Programme. This report undertakes an initial assessment of the potential energy capacity of the River Thames‚ from Teddington Lock in the west to Dartford Creek in the east. It also looks at the licensing processes and permissions required for installing river source heat pumps.
These elements have been looked at as a first step towards developing the evidence base for developing a coordinated and coherent strategy for utilising the River Thames as a low carbon heat source to supply strategic multi-borough heat networks in London. This will help decarbonise heat supply in pursuit of London’s Net Zero by 2030 target.
This report has been produced to support the on-going partnership across London’s Government to identify and develop heat network opportunities aimed at tackling the climate emergency. Some sections of this report have been compiled to support London Government, heat network developers and regulatory bodies work together to streamline the approach to developing opportunities for recovering heat from the river. It aims to support heat network development whilst ensuring awareness of the regulatory requirements that need to be complied with.
This study also feeds into the sub-regional Local Area Energy Plans (LAEP) that the GLA are undertaking in partnership with London Councils and London Boroughs.
River Thames Study report
Case studies
Read more about the projects LEA has supported:
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Case study from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
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Case study from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
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Case study from Citigen
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Case Study from NHS England - London Region.
Local Energy Framework of consultancies
The Local Energy Framework of consultancies is available until the end of March 2026.
These consultancies are available to procure expertise to help organisations develop low carbon heat networks, solar PV and energy flexibility projects.
A list of these consultancies on the Local Energy Framework (in alphabetical order) is as below:
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1Energy Group (subcontractor on sublot 2.2)
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AECOM
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Amberside
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Asteros
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Atkins
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Buro Happold Ltd
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Carbon Trust Advisory Ltd
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Centre for Sustainable Energy
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Emergent.Energy
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Energy Direction (with Teno Energy)
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FairHeat
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GEP Environmental
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Greenfield Nordic Ltd
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HermeticaBlack
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Inner Circle
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Ove Arup & Partners Ltd
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Ramboll UK Ltd
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Scene
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Sustainable Energy Ltd
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Sweco UK Ltd
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Turner and Townsend
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UK Power Networks
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Woodward Energy Consulting
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WSP UK Limited
The framework can be used free-of-charge by eligible organisations to procure the expertise they need to deliver projects across the UK. For a framework briefing pack, please email [email protected]. The framework is active until the end of March 2026. However, if contracts are signed before this date, the work can continue beyond March 2026.
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