The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has published a report that explains the experiences and knowledge gained from the Agency's Low Carbon Infrastructure Fund (LCIF) programme.

It is intended that the publication, called District Heating Good Practice: Learning from the Low Carbon Infrastructure Fund will help local authorities who are considering the use of district heating systems by providing guidance, examples of good practice and case studies that highlight successes and lessons for the future.

Interviews with local authority partners involved in the HCA's programme informed the report, which identifies clarity over roles, responsibilities, ownership, risk and liability as an important driver for success. It also recommends being creative when looking at commercial solutions and warns against underestimating the work required to set up district heating systems.

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Agreeing strategic objectives with partners at the earliest stage and linking carbon reduction targets to stages of the development in the planning process, plus ensuring careful budget management will help achieve effective systems, according to the report.

The LCIF programme also uncovered some issues such as a lack of knowledge among energy providers about planning policy and how local authorities make decisions. It revealed the need for wider understanding of the district heating technical and feasibility process and for local authorities to increase their knowledge about the commercial energy sector.

Steve Carr, Head of Economics and New Business at the HCA, said: "Our projects with these authorities have been very successful in demonstrating how district heating can be used in different locations to generate low carbon energy by linking communities, businesses and the environment. Local energy supply may well feature large in the localism agenda and these pioneer authorities have generously given feedback that other communities will find invaluable as they embark on local energy schemes."

The schemes featured in the HCA's lessons learned report are part of the Agency's LCIF programme, set up in 2009 by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Energy and Climate Change, to provide funding for the infrastructure needed to link housing schemes to new and existing low carbon energy plants.

(CD/KMcA)