Charles Robson Director

Charles leads Burges Salmon’s Clean Heat Team. He is a highly experienced infrastructure lawyer and has advised on UK energy law for more than 30 years.

Charles is at the forefront of the rapidly-developing heat networks market in the UK, currently acting for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the development and implementation of policy, standard materials and processes and also for the promoters of several pathfinder zone-scale heat network projects as part of the Advanced Zoning Programme.

He is UK Expert for the International Energy Agency’s Technology Collaboration Programme on District Heating and Cooling.

• Advising the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the Route to Market workstream of the Heat Network Transformation Programme, by which the government is enacting legislation and developing policies and regulations to ensure that heat networks can contribute towards reaching net zero. 
• Advising the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero on Project SWAN, an area-wide low-carbon district heat network in South Westminster, one of the most ambitious energy network opportunities in the UK, which will use ambient heat from the River Thames to supply more than 1,000 existing buildings.
• Advising the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation on its zone scale low-carbon district heat network in west London (which spans areas of the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham) which will use waste heat from data centres as the principal source of heat to new and existing buildings within the OPDC Area.
• Advising Worthing Borough Council on its town-scale low-carbon heat network which implements an innovative new “evergreen” concession model involving a golden share for the Council to safeguard its strategic interests.