The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has updated the privacy notice for the Green Heat Network Fund, setting out how information submitted through the funding application process is collected, processed, shared and potentially published. The update matters for heat-network developers, local authorities, consultants, contractors and supply-chain partners involved in low-carbon heat projects because the notice confirms that project information may be used not only for application assessment, but also for monitoring, reporting, evaluation, policy development and public transparency.
The Green Heat Network Fund supports the development of low-carbon heat networks, a key part of the UK’s wider heat decarbonisation strategy. These schemes can create construction and retrofit work across energy centres, buried services, plant rooms, distribution pipework, public estates, housing developments and commercial buildings. Under the updated notice, DESNZ and Triple Point Investment Management LLP are joint controllers for data processed under the fund. Personal and project-related information may be used to assess applications, manage payments, monitor delivery, support statutory reporting, evaluate scheme performance and publish information about funded projects.
The notice also confirms that data may be shared with delivery partners, technical advisers, evaluators, the Welsh Government for projects in Wales, and the National Wealth Fund where applicants opt in for potential debt support. This means organisations applying for support should treat data governance, supply-chain reporting and confidentiality controls as part of the funding process, not as an afterthought.
For construction firms and consultants, the key point is that Green Heat Network Fund projects are not only technical delivery schemes. They sit within a public funding environment where evidence, reporting, project progress and market-transformation commitments can be used for wider policy and transparency purposes.
The notice states that information relating to applications and funded projects may be published through GOV.UK or other public platforms. This can include project summaries, progress updates, case studies, aggregated data and information connected to monitoring and reporting. Applicants can identify commercially sensitive information and request that it is treated as such for a defined period. However, the notice makes clear that confidentiality is limited by legal, audit and public-interest requirements, including the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations.
The update is not driven by a single funding change but by a combination of data protection, transparency, evaluation and public accountability requirements around the Green Heat Network Fund. While the notice is administrative in form, it shows that low-carbon heat projects receiving public support may face ongoing reporting and publication obligations. In practical terms, applicants and delivery partners should prepare project data, supply-chain information and commercially sensitive material with clear governance from the start.
For the construction sector, the Green Heat Network Fund remains relevant because heat decarbonisation depends on practical delivery capacity. The policy outcome may be low-carbon heat, but the delivery route involves civil engineering, MEP design, energy infrastructure, retrofit interfaces, commissioning and long-term asset performance. The update reinforces a wider trend in publicly supported sustainability projects: funding is increasingly tied to evidence, transparency and measurable delivery. For contractors and consultants working in this market, compliance with reporting requirements may become as important as technical delivery itself.
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Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus
Founder, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist |
