Phase 1 Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund

Welcome to Phase 1 Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund, launched on behalf of the Scottish Government in October 2023.

The Scottish Government made £20 million grant funding available within the financial year 24/25 under Phase 1 of Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund for projects to decarbonise their heating systems by replacing them with zero direct emissions systems, and for retrofit energy efficiency measures to support the overall decarbonisation of heat in buildings.

Many buildings rely on fossil fuel systems to fulfil heating, hot water, and catering requirements. The energy demand from these requirements is high and requires a strategic and targeted approach to reduce carbon emissions. Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund supports the introduction of zero-emissions heating systems, as well as encouraging a ‘whole building’ approach that implements energy efficiency measures to reduce a building’s overall energy demand.

Decarbonising the way we heat our buildings has already been established as one of the biggest challenges in meeting the UK’s 2050 net zero targets. Scotland has set an even more ambitious target than the rest of the UK to meet net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045 and is paving the way in terms of plans to source alternative systems to replace fossil-fuel based heating. However, the majority of buildings in the public sector still rely on traditional fossil-fuel boilers.

This scheme provided capital funding for public sector organisations to carry out projects to decarbonise their heating systems and improve the overall energy performance of their buildings. In line with Scottish Government policy, applications were required to take a ‘whole building’ approach through the introduction of energy efficiency measures; to improve the energy efficiency of buildings as well as to ensure the optimal performance of their zero-direct emissions heating system.