Europe held up as model for UK district energy rules

Amid the UK’s surge in district heating, the UK District Energy Association (UKDEA) has called for authorities to look to Europe before imposing over-strict standards.

Renewed growth in the sector has prompted calls for new standards to protect the sector’s image, but the UKDEA warns against imposing excessive costs and proposes Germany and Denmark as models to follow. “The UK should be looking to these industry leaders for guidance rather than inventing the wheel,” said the UKDEA in a press release.

A legacy of failed district energy schemes in the seventies in the UK stokes demand for standards, added the UKDEA. “The knowledge of this previous mistake has led some experts and organisations to call for formal standards, potentially before the groundwork has been laid for the UK’s marketplace.”

But the association warns that over-regulation could stifle the revived industry through “unnecessary financial burdens’ or ‘restriction on innovation”.

“Any industry standards… should be set by a working group of industry experts and should be practical and workable,” said UKDEA Chairman Simon Woodward in the press release. “They should not put unnecessary costs onto an emerging industry.”

Source: COSPP