The Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) announced today that it will be renamed the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE), cementing its role as the key advocate for the UK’s decentralised energy transition across the industrial, public, commercial and domestic sectors.

The association says it is changing its name to better reflect the wide range of its members’ interests and focus. The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) will remain the leading advocate for combined heat and power, district heating and cooling, and demand side energy services.

Its members voted unanimously for the change at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 7 January.

Director of the new Association for Decentralised Energy, Dr Tim Rotheray, said: “The way we generate and use our energy is in the midst of a significant transition, away from a centralised system and towards a decentralised one that puts control in the hands of users. Our members have a long history of using and providing the solutions that make that transition possible.

“From industry to local authorities, energy users are increasingly seeking local solutions to meet their energy needs. This change of name reflects our long-term vision to create a less costly, more secure and lower carbon energy system, dictated by users’ needs, not energy producers.

“Combined heat and power, district heating and cooling, and demand side energy services are vital components of an integrated, decentralised energy system. The Association’s members are already delivering the technologies for a more local and less wasteful energy economy,” he added.

Chairman of the association, Ian Calvert, said: “Our new name ensures that we reflect the significant role which the Association and our members have in the growth in the decentralised energy sector.”

The CHPA started life as the District Heating Association (DHA) in 1967 and, in 1983, was renamed as the Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA).

The Association for Decentralised Energy will be formally launched on the 20 January at a parliamentary reception to be addressed by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Rt. Hon. Edward Davey MP.