Hansard

The aim of the bill is simple: to encourage greater use of local heat networks in Scotland and thereby move away from burning gas and fossil fuels to heat our homes and buildings; and to provide the supporting legislation, licensing and regulation to bind it all together. At the moment, over half of Scotland’s energy consumption is used to create heat and over 80 per cent of our homes burn gas to heat our gas central heating systems.

It is estimated that only about 1 per cent of Scotland’s heat demand is met by district and local heat networks, while across in Denmark, as has been mentioned by one or two members, the figure is about 50 per cent. In Copenhagen, though, an incredible 98 per cent of all buildings are connected to a heat network. Denmark started its journey a lot earlier than Scotland, for a number of reasons, but those figures illustrate both the challenge that we face and the gains to be made in our contribution towards reducing CO₂ emissions. We will be the first country in the UK to legislate on the development of heat networks, which will help us meet our target of net zero by 2040 and to tackle fuel poverty, which was a helpful addition to the bill at stage 2 that committee members requested.

The future of gas grids needs to be clarified by the UK Government, but in the meantime we can make good progress in Scotland using the powers that we have. The bill, if approved, will help us to achieve that. The proposals in the bill stem from recommendations that came from an expert group of industry, consumer groups and local government, and it lines up pretty well with advice from the Climate Change Committee too. The bill marks the beginning of a transformational change that paves the way for Scotland to create the supportive market environment that will be needed to expand the development of heat networks across the country. We must also recognise the potential for new businesses to emerge and provide jobs to support the industry. The Scottish Government is determined to unlock the potential for that sector, wherever possible.

We mentioned Denmark a lot during the committee’s work—and rightly so. We heard evidence from the Danish Energy Agency that heat networks cover about two thirds of all households in Denmark and represent about 17 per cent of its national energy consumption.

This is probably stating the obvious, but heat networks are adaptable to whatever new technology develops. The technology delivering the heat is not in the household or building, so any changes to the technology—for example, if hydrogen emerges as a solution—do not affect them at all.

The ability to create local companies and jobs is also clear, and the skills that are needed transfer quite easily from the natural gas sector. Even in my constituency we have a number of examples, such as the HALO project that is under construction in Kilmarnock. That £63 million urban village will be the first net zero carbon energy project in Scotland. It will provide jobs, economic growth, skills development, access to employment opportunities, clean energy and housing. Also, our soon-to-be-refurbished St Sophia’s primary school in Galston will be 100 per cent supplied by air source heat pump technology, which, overall, will reduce the school’s energy consumption by about 80 per cent.

Passing the bill at stage 3 will set off Scotland in yet another positive direction towards meeting our net zero aspirations. It is important that we do that carefully, with all due consideration being given to drafting all the regulations and licensing arrangements, opening up opportunities for local businesses—and, I hope, co-operatives—to emerge and exploit the potential of heat networks, and, probably most important of all, taking the public along with us on that journey to net zero.

I am happy to support the bill at stage 3. I look forward to it being agreed to at decision time.