The River Irwell in Manchester and the River Tame in Stockport are among forty rivers across the country that could provide clean and reliable heating to thousands of homes.
The report issued by the Department of Energy and Climate Change states that the rivers could accommodate heat pumps with the capacity to each generate more than one megawatt of power, enough to provide heating and hot water for up to 500 homes.
A map issued has highlighted the sites to councils, private developers and community groups in a bid to encourage greater growth of local heath networks.
Energy and climate change Secretary Ed Davey said: ‘It sounds like magic but using proven technology we can now extract some of the heat in our rivers and estuaries and use that energy to heat our homes and offices.
‘I want to help communities across England use our waterways for this renewable heat and this new map is designed to help communities, councils and developers identify the most promising opportunities.
‘If we can succeed on the large scale, it would cut Britain’s import bill and boost our home-grown supplies of clean, secure energy.’
