£10 Million Funding Secured for Heat Network Plan

Council hopes to provide low-carbon energy from Mogden sewage works

Tanks at the Mogden sewage treatment facility. Picture: Thames Water

February 6, 2026

Hounslow Council has been awarded £10.55 million from the Government’s Green Heat Network Fund to begin work on a large-scale low-carbon heating scheme that will serve homes and public buildings across Isleworth and Brentford.

The funding will support Phase One of the Hounslow Heat Network, a project that will capture unused heat from Thames Water’s Mogden Sewage Treatment Works and distribute it through around 8.8km of underground pipes. Once complete, the network has the potential to supply clean, reliable heat to up to 3,000 homes, as well as NHS buildings, schools, libraries, commercial premises and other community facilities.

Construction is expected to begin in 2028, with the system projected to deliver 50 GWh of low-carbon heat each year. Council officers say this would cut annual emissions by around 6,690 tonnes of CO₂e—equivalent to removing more than 3,800 petrol cars from the road.

Heat networks, sometimes described as “central heating for cities”, distribute hot water from a central source to multiple buildings, removing the need for individual gas boilers or electric heaters. They are seen as a key tool in decarbonising urban areas, particularly where waste heat—such as that produced by sewage treatment, industrial processes or data centres—can be captured and reused.

Hounslow’s scheme is one of several across the country backed by the Green Heat Network Fund, which supports projects using low- or zero-carbon heat sources including waste heat, geothermal energy and heat pumps.

Picture: Hounslow Council

Council Leader Cllr Shantanu Rajawat said the funding marked a significant milestone in the borough’s climate plans.

“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,” he said.

Cllr Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport, said the project would help accelerate progress on the borough’s Climate Emergency Action Plan.

“Cleaner energy benefits everybody in Hounslow, cutting carbon emissions while protecting residents from future price shocks,” she said. “Gaining this funding is a real win for our borough.”

Dejan Vernon, Energy Technical Manager at Thames Water, said the Mogden heat recovery scheme demonstrated how the water sector could support the transition to net zero.

“By capturing heat from wastewater, we can help provide low-carbon heating for public buildings, homes and essential services across Isleworth and Brentford,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Council and its partners as the project progresses.”

The council says the project will stimulate the local supply chain, create new green-skills opportunities and make the borough more resilient to future gas price spikes. Once operational, the network is expected to provide a long-term, cost-effective alternative to fossil-fuel heating.