T2723 - Belfast City Council District Heating Network Project

Belfast City Council is progressing Northern Ireland’s first city-centre low-carbon, district heat network. The climate team was set up five years ago, to build partnerships across the city to deliver climate initiatives beyond the Council estate. Early development of the heat network has been underway for 18 months, supported by Innovate UK funding and the climate team’s internal budget. The Council is now seeking engagement with heat network developers, developer-led teams, or consortia with strong experience of development, delivery, operation and investment. The Council is conducting this pre-market engagement exercise to engage with potential lead developers to provide such organisations with some preliminary information about the procurement opportunity. It is anticipated that there will be subsequent, more detailed pre-market engagement exercises prior to the formal launch of any competitive process. The Council would also like to use this opportunity to test market capability, appetite for innovation and refine the future procurement and delivery strategy for this important project. A key theme for the project is drawing on innovative approaches to lowering the heat tariff for users. To support this PME exercise we have developed a more detailed PME project prospectus document setting out more detail about the project and further engagement plans with interested lead developers. To request a copy of this prospectus please email cps@belfastcity.gov.uk before the 'Engagement Deadline' i.e. 13th February 2026.