The Government has made available £9.4 million to increase the use of low-carbon technologies in companies and local authorities.

More than 30 local authorities in England and Wales will take a share of the money to support the development of heat network projects through the Government’s Heat Networks Delivery Unit.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said that he wanted to encourage the use of heat pumps, energy from waste technologies, recovered industrial heat or heat taken from landfill.

Mr Davey said: “Improving the way we heat our buildings and helping local authorities fund innovative and more efficient ways of supplying lower carbon heat will reduce our dependency on costly, imported gas.”