Ed Miliband, the Shadow Secretary for Energy and Net Zero, has toured Kensa‘s Cornwall factory to see how some of the UK’s ground source heat pump solutions are being developed.
Joined by local Labour candidates Perran Moon and Jayne Kirkham, Mr Miliband met with Kensa’s CEO, Tamsin Lishman, and other employees to discuss the British company’s plans to decarbonise heat and hear more about their vision to deliver affordable, renewable heating and cooling to millions of people across the UK.
On the back of £70m in investment from Legal & General and Octopus Energy, Kensa is working with communities and businesses across the UK to deliver its heat decarbonisation solution – Networked Heat Pumps.
Networked Heat Pumps consist of ground source heat pumps installed in individual properties, whether that’s flats, terraced streets or newbuild homes, connected to a shared network of underground pipework, providing each property with low-cost, renewable heating, hot water and cooling.
This solution has already been implemented for thousands of properties across the UK, including 273 high-rise social housing flats in Thurrock, lowering residents’ bills by up to 66%. It’s also heating new-build properties in Bristol and has been rolled out under the streets for medium-density housing in Stithians, Cornwall.
The Government has an ambition to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. Powered by the wider adoption of Networked Heat Pumps, Kensa expects to contribute significantly to this figure, ramping up heat pump production to 70,000 a year by the end of the decade and creating over 7,000 green UK manufacturing jobs in the process.
Mr Miliband, told Kensa’s Tamsin Lishman, “I’m incredibly impressed by everything I’ve seen here. The workforce, the vision, the commitment to tackling fuel poverty, I think Kensa’s got a really important role to play.
“It (ground source heat pumps) is an innovative technology, it’s a crucial technology, it’s absolutely part of the mix if I’m concerned, and If Labour’s in Government and I’m the Secretary of State after July 4th, I look forward to working with Kensa to tackle the shared goals we have, to tackle fuel poverty and decarbonise our country.
“It’s not just about decarbonisation, and clean energy and tackling fuel poverty, it’s about good jobs for people, it’s about good wages which is really important to Cornwall and really important across the country. Talking to people on your (Kensa’s) shop floor, they’re really enjoying what they’re doing, but we need more people to know about these opportunities.”
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