SP Energy Networks and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution have partnered with the Scottish government to accelerate the decarbonisation of heating in Scotland through Project Re-Heat, which will see trials taking place in the Highlands and across Scotland.

The £5 million project has been funded via a number of schemes including £1.26m from the Scottish Government's Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme and £1.2m from Home Energy Efficiency Programme for Scotland. Delivery partner E.ON will work alongside the network operators, local authorities and industry partners such as Sunamp, an East Lothian based energy storage company, to explore how electricity networks can facilitate the large-scale electrification of heat and trial innovative solutions that will support the transition to a low carbon economy.

With support from delivery partner, E.ON, and heat pump manufacturers, Daikin, this first DNO-led large scale trial will see 150 heat pumps in total installed in domestic homes across three local authority areas, with 50 of those in the Highlands. Those heat pumps will be connected to thermal storage units developed by Sunamp, enabling customers to be more flexible in the times they use electricity for heating.

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Using smart grid controls and smart heating management with domestic heat storage, Re-Heat will demonstrate technical solutions that not only accelerate the deployment of low carbon electrified heating, but also reduce demand on the electricity network, in turn reducing or removing the need for traditional network reinforcement.

Chair of Highland Council's Climate Change Working Group, Cllr Trish Robertson, said: "I warmly welcome this interesting project which will gather information to assist us in our decarbonisation efforts.

"Careful consideration of where these homes are situated will provide valuable data which will help us decide on the best options and solutions for each particular area."

Scott Mathieson, Network Planning and Regulation Director at SP Energy Networks, said: "Achieving Net Zero emissions by 2045 will only be possible if we begin to work on real solutions to support the decarbonisation of heat now. Our electricity networks are at the heart of the transition to a low carbon Scotland, but we need to ensure they are able to cope with the significant increase in demand we're projecting as more and more low carbon heating solutions are connected into our network.

"This flagship project has the potential to be replicated across the country if it's successful and we look forward to working with the Scottish Government, SSEN, local authorities and our industry partners to find a way to support this massive step-change in a way that will enable all our communities to work towards a Net Zero future."

Stewart Reid, Head of Future Networks at SSEN, said: "We have 7,500 heat pumps already installed on our network across the north of Scotland and anticipate this will increase to half a million by the middle of this century. Project Re-Heat will be vital to build our understanding of how we manage this cost effectively and ensure our network is ready.

"We are delighted to be working with the Scottish Government and industry partners. Through this project, we look forward to tackling the challenges and identifying how to provide the critical infrastructure needed to support net zero."

The Scottish Government, SP Energy Networks and SSEN are part of a Heat Electrification Strategic Partnership, which will focus on accelerating the decarbonisation of heating in Scotland.