Proposed Haringey heat networks challenged by environmental activists

Plans to roll out decentralised heat networks in Tottenham and Wood Green with £28million of government funding could face a legal challenge.

The funding has been awarded to Haringey Council to help it design and install two pipe networks that will use energy from the new Edmonton incinerator, which is currently under construction, to heat more than 10,000 homes and businesses.

According to an outline business case drawn up by the council, the schemes could cut carbon dioxide emissions from heating by 80% compared to using gas boilers. This would reduce the borough’s carbon footprint by 5% and help to meet the council’s target of reaching net zero carbon by 2041.

The council says the schemes would “represent the biggest carbon reduction project delivered in Haringey to date”. But campaigners opposed to the new incinerator, which will produce energy by burning domestic waste, could mount a legal challenge to the decision to award funding for the scheme.

Campaign group Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now (StEIN) says burning waste to produce energy is between four and five times more carbon-intensive than “truly low-carbon sources of energy, such as wind and solar power”. The campaign group has instructed lawyers Leigh Day to send a letter to the government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Haringey Council as a precursor to a legal challenge.

StEIN claims the government’s decision to award the funds was unlawful in that incinerator heat cannot reasonably be expected to “deliver carbon savings”, which was a main aim of the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) through which the funds were secured.

It also alleges the government and council failed to take into account advice from the Independent Climate Change Committee that increased and unabated emissions emitted by energy-from-waste incinerators are not compatible with the UK’s carbon budgets and net zero target, particularly in the context of the UK’s commitment to decarbonise the electricity system by 2035.

In addition, StEIN says the council and government both failed to consult the public prior to granting and accepting the funds.

Haringey resident Sheila Risk, who is leading the legal challenge on behalf of the StEIN coalition, said: “At this stage there is no longer any argument about what kinds of heat networks we should be building.

“Official guidance is clear that we need to build heat pumps into our heat networks because they are a low-carbon alternative to burning gas. Plus, they cut local air pollution. Incinerator heat isn’t fit for purpose. It’s even worse than gas. It simply isn’t green and surely BEIS and Haringey Council are well aware of that.”

Responding to the group’s claims, a council spokesperson said that since the outline business case for the networks was approved in December last year, the authority had been carrying out preparatory work with the support of funding from BEIS.

They added: “As is normal practice, the council will keep the project under review and is working towards considering the full business case in the latter part of 2023. The points made in the letter from Leigh Day Solicitors will be considered and responded to as soon as possible. As this matter may result in legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate for the council to comment further at this time.”

A spokesperson for BEIS said:“We remain fully committed to the legally binding target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and an independent review, commissioned by government, has been launched to ensure we reach this target in the most economically-efficient way. It would not be appropriate to comment further on potential legal proceedings.”

A spokesperson for North London Waste Authority said the legal challenge could stop residents from having a “secure, reliable source of low-carbon heating” in their homes. They added that the energy recovery facility (ERF) – another term for the incinerator – would be low carbon, replacing energy from fossil fuels, and that heat from the facility is expected to have 92.3% lower carbon emissions than individual gas boilers.

They added: “The new ERF – like the current facility it replaces – will be publicly owned, guaranteeing that revenues from energy generation will help reduce the cost of waste disposal for council taxpayers, meaning more money for other essential council services.

“The ERF has two core functions: firstly, to dispose of North London’s waste instead of letting it rot in landfill, and secondly to use that waste as a resource to generate heat and power, preventing it from emitting greenhouse gases in landfill. The only alternative to the ERF is to truck hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste to private contractors, at a cost of at least an extra £20m more a year and with a far higher carbon footprint.”