Hounslow has secured £10.55 million from the UK Government’s Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF).
This will kick-start a major low-carbon heating scheme that will transform how homes and buildings in Isleworth and Brentford are heated.
The funding will support Phase One of the Hounslow Heat Network, which will harness unused heat from Thames Water’s Mogden Sewage Treatment works. The network, which has the potential to supply heat to up to 3000 homes, will supply clean, reliable heating to local NHS trusts, libraries, schools, commercial buildings, and other local buildings across the borough, through approximately 8.8 km of underground pipes.
Compared to traditional sources of heat energy, the Hounslow Heat Network will make the borough cleaner and more resilient in the face of future gas price spikes. The scheme will mobilise the local supply chain to deliver cost-effective decarbonised heat and will create significant skills and employment opportunities.
Initial construction activity will begin in 2028, and once complete, the project is expected to deliver 50 GWh of low carbon heat each year, cutting annual emissions by an average of 6,690 tonnes CO₂e compared to existing heating systems; the equivalent of removing more than 3,800 petrol cars from the road.
Sometimes described as ‘central heating for cities’, heat networks supply heat from a central source to consumers, via a network of underground pipes carrying hot water, which avoids the need for individual boilers or electric heaters in every building. Heat networks can cover a large area or supply a small cluster of buildings in a local area.
Councillor Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of Hounslow Council, said:
I’m delighted to learn that we’ve been awarded over £10.55 m from the Green Heat Network Fund and I’d like to thank the team here at the Council for their hard work on putting together a very detailed and successful bid.
This investment will lower the pressure on the grid and bring valuable new skills and jobs for local people in the long-term, boosting Hounslow’s economy while making energy more reliable for residents and businesses.
Cllr Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport, welcomed the news, saying:
Gaining this funding is a real win for our borough and will enable us to go further and faster in delivering on our Climate Emergency Action Plan. Cleaner energy benefits everybody in Hounslow, cutting carbon emissions while protecting residents from future price shocks.
Dejan Vernon, Energy Technical Manager at Thames Water, added:
Our purpose is to deliver life’s essential service, and the heat‑recovery scheme at Modgen sewage treatment works will deliver real benefits for the Hounslow community. By capturing heat from wastewater, we can help provide low-carbon heating for public buildings, homes and essential services across Isleworth and Brentford, demonstrating how the water sector can support the transition to net zero while delivering for customers and the environment. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Council and its partners as the project progresses.
Funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered through the Heat Network Transformation Programme, the Green Heat Network Fund backs projects that use low- and zero-carbon heat sources such as waste heat, geothermal, or heat pumps.
Read more about this round of Heat Network funding here: A warm start to 2026: GHNF kicks off the new year with £47 million to four projects – GHNF
