In January 2023, Vattenfall Heat UK acquired Bristol Heat Networks Ltd from Bristol City Council and is now working with Bristol City Leap in a partnership that will last for the next 20 years. Bristol City Leap is a large-scale initiative aimed at achieving carbon neutrality for the city’s energy infrastructure by 2030.
Bristol City Council began developing heat networks as low carbon infrastructure in response to the need to decarbonise the heat used in the city. Vattenfall will build and expand the heat networks, develop new ones, including in Bedminster, and where possible interconnect them to create a single Bristol Heat Network – serving the local community with reliable, low-carbon heat.
Find out more about the Bedminster Heat Network and more detailed FAQs on the Bristol City Leap website.
The immediate priority is to work with the new developments in Bedminster, and Vattenfall are exploring ways to extend the heat network in surrounding residential areas. Once the initial phase of the Bedminster heat network is built, Vattenfall will be able to focus more on decarbonising existing buildings and hopefully individual homes.
In the meantime, there is a portion of Bristol City Leap’s Community Energy Fund that’s dedicated to support community initiatives that help towards the decarbonisation of Bristol and secure long-term benefits for local residents. The fund was launched at the end of September 2023 and is open for applications now: bristolcityleap.co.uk/community/community-energy-fund/