scheme Archives - theenergyst.com https://theenergyst.com/tag/scheme/ Thu, 30 May 2024 12:30:35 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://theenergyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/cropped-TE-gravatar-2-32x32.png scheme Archives - theenergyst.com https://theenergyst.com/tag/scheme/ 32 32 BUS applications double, spurring home heat pump installs https://theenergyst.com/bus-applications-double-spurring-home-heat-pump-installs/ https://theenergyst.com/bus-applications-double-spurring-home-heat-pump-installs/#respond Thu, 30 May 2024 11:25:34 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=21674 Britain’s installation of heat pumps to replace fossil-fuelled boilers is at last showing signs of speeding up, bringing expressions of relief from suppliers today. Now offering £7,500 to homes that strip out old gas-fired heating, the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme has appeared to under-perform in the two years since it opened to voucher applications.  Funding […]

The post BUS applications double, spurring home heat pump installs appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
Britain’s installation of heat pumps to replace fossil-fuelled boilers is at last showing signs of speeding up, bringing expressions of relief from suppliers today.

Now offering £7,500 to homes that strip out old gas-fired heating, the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme has appeared to under-perform in the two years since it opened to voucher applications.  Funding of £450 million for the BUS is approved by D-ESNZ until next year.

But figures released today by the ministry show a 93% near-doubling year on year last month of applications for the scheme.

By the end of April, a total of 40,259 applications for BUS re-imbursement had reached the ministry during the two years of the scheme. All but 4% were for air-sourced heat pumps.

Raising the BUS grant in October by half to £7,500 seems to have sped up allocations.  Applications for cash to redeem vouchers underpinning installations rose last month by 57%, compared with April 2023.  Vouchers issued towards costs rose too over the same period, up 69% to just under 1,800 last month.

All told, just over 25,000 home boilers have been replaced under the BUS, today’s figures show. That appears still to lag ministers’ expectations. When announced in 2021, the BUS set a target of 600,000 replacements by 2028.

Average costs in the market of a system redeemed during the BUS’s two years has been £13,150 for an airsource pump and £25,00 for a ground source pump, the figures show.  Both values include the grant value.

Data released by Ofgem also shows that there have been more than 40,000 applications in total, with the scheme having paid out over 25,000 grants, with more than £148 million issued.

Rural homes account for 57% of all pump installations paid for under the BUS. 54% were on the gas grid.

From Swedish pump manufacturer & installer Aira, UK chief executive Daniel Särefjord acknowledged how the government’s raising the BUS grant to £7,500 had put wheels under the market.

“This helping hand has raised awareness of the benefits of innovative heat pumps”, said Särefjord, “such as lower heating costs, greater energy security for the UK and a 75% reduction in heating-related carbon emissions and air pollution in comparison to a domestic gas or oil boiler.

“After the election”, the Aira boss continued, “I hope the new government will work closely with the British heat pump sector to meet our climate commitments, decarbonise homes and secure a fair deal for UK residents.

“In the next parliament, our much-needed energy transition will depend on MPs scrapping planning policy red tape, rebalancing the taxes and levies on electricity and gas, as well as continuing and progressing the nation’s subsidy offering.”

Ministers point to pricing moves from some energy retailers to make heat pumps more attractive still.  Octopus Energy and British Gas both offers complete heat pump installations from £500.

Some offer tariffs designed specifically to work with heat pumps. Octopus’s Cozy electricity tariff can save heat pump users an estimated £96 compared with a standard flexible tariff.  Ovo’s Heat Pump Plus tariff allows customers access to run a pump on a specialist tariff fixed at 15p/kWh.

“These latest numbers show that for more and more families, the switch to a heat pump is starting to make financial sense”, said energy secretary Claire Coutinho.

“Our plan is to give families a helping hand, rather than forcing them to make expensive changes before they are ready”.

The post BUS applications double, spurring home heat pump installs appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/bus-applications-double-spurring-home-heat-pump-installs/feed/ 0
Breaking news:  Emissions scheme to reduce sale of carbon allowances https://theenergyst.com/breaking-news-emissions-scheme-to-reduce-sale-of-carbon-allowances/ https://theenergyst.com/breaking-news-emissions-scheme-to-reduce-sale-of-carbon-allowances/#respond Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:06:20 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=20253 Energy-intensive industries will be incentivised to reach their lowest-ever level of carbon emissions, under detailed plans published by the UK government & devolved administrations late this afternoon. Next year’s calendar for the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme will limit the number of carbon allowances for companies to buy to 69 million, or 12.4 per cent fewer […]

The post Breaking news:  Emissions scheme to reduce sale of carbon allowances appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
Energy-intensive industries will be incentivised to reach their lowest-ever level of carbon emissions, under detailed plans published by the UK government & devolved administrations late this afternoon.

Next year’s calendar for the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme will limit the number of carbon allowances for companies to buy to 69 million, or 12.4 per cent fewer than in 2023, and their lowest-ever level.

By 2027, the allocation will fall further to around 44 million, a 45 per cent reduction on 2023. A floor of around 24 million is projected for by 2030.

This afternoon’s figures put plans announced earlier this year into action – to reduce the cap on carbon emissions under the Emissions Trading Scheme in line with the UK’s ambitious Net Zero strategy.

The UK ETS came into operation in January 2021, following the UK’s departure from the European Union.  It follows a cap and trade mechanism, with the cap reduced periodically to reflect progress towards the UK’s 2050 Net Zero commitments.

Through the scheme’s auctions process, companies in industries including manufacturing, power generation and aviation are required to buy allowances for every unit of carbon they emit. With fewer permits available to buy, these sectors will need to take further steps to cut their emissions.

The auction calendar published today by ICE Futures Europe, on behalf of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority, gives businesses certainty over the next 12 months and sets the scheme on a clear path for decarbonisation for the six years after that.

In a joint statement, UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority ministers, including Lord Callanan, Julie James MS, Màiri McAllan MSP and Exchequer eecretary Gareth Davies MP said:

“We want to give our industries the confidence to decarbonise, by investing in efficiency measures and moving away from fossil fuels to cleaner, more secure energy.

“The UK Trading Emissions Scheme will cut supply of allowances auctioned, with a 45 per cent reduction by 2027, to help us on our path to Net Zero””, the ministers went on.

“The auction calendar for 2024 and introduction of the new Net Zero-consistent cap will help provide certainty for businesses, while spurring investment and helping to grow the economy.”

Easing the scheme’s transition to a Net Zero cap, a proportion of allowances that went unused between in the past two years is today allocated to auctions due to be held between 2024 and 2027.

The number of allowances auctioned will still fall significantly each year over this period. There are also programmes in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland providing millions of pounds to help businesses make the changes needed.

As part of wider changes to the scheme, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority has also committed to exploring measures for the future of the carbon allowances market, including examining the merits of a supply adjustment mechanism.

Such a change would provide a means of altering the supply of carbon allowances more flexibly in response to market conditions.

A copy of the 2024 UK Emissions Trading Scheme auction calendar can be found on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) website. ICE runs ETS auctions and secondary markets on behalf of the government.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority is the joint body comprising the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland that runs the scheme.

The post Breaking news:  Emissions scheme to reduce sale of carbon allowances appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/breaking-news-emissions-scheme-to-reduce-sale-of-carbon-allowances/feed/ 0
£3 million offered before 22 August to energy co-ops & community campaigners https://theenergyst.com/3-million-offered-before-22-august-to-energy-co-ops-community-campaigners/ https://theenergyst.com/3-million-offered-before-22-august-to-energy-co-ops-community-campaigners/#respond Fri, 04 Aug 2023 13:55:24 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=19940 Ofgem’s Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme opened this week for its fifth round of grant-making.  Community campaigners & leaders of the UK’s nearly 400 power co-operatives have until 22 August to apply. Funded from the regulator’s fines on licensed suppliers, the Redress Scheme has a total of £3 million on the table. Local projects eligible […]

The post £3 million offered before 22 August to energy co-ops & community campaigners appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
Ofgem’s Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme opened this week for its fifth round of grant-making.  Community campaigners & leaders of the UK’s nearly 400 power co-operatives have until 22 August to apply.

Funded from the regulator’s fines on licensed suppliers, the Redress Scheme has a total of £3 million on the table.

Local projects eligible to benefit include those supporting households most at risk from high energy bills, carbon emissions reduction projects ventures in England, Scotland and Wales, or those centring on innovative products and services related to home energy.

Charities and community energy groups – including community benefit societies, community interest companies, and co-operative can access one or more of four funding streams.

The streams are:

  • £1.8 million in the Main Fund, benefitting vulnerable households with grants of between £50,000 and £250,000.
  • £300,000 in the Small Project Fund, dispensing grants between £20,000 to £50,000 supporting similarly afflicted families.
  • The £450,000 Innovation Fund, a seed nursery for product or service innovations doing good for  households. Grants are between £20,000 to £200,000.
  • Also containing £450,000, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Fund,– aimed at projects empowering homes to reduce their carbon footprint.  Sums adanced are as for the Innovation Fund.

To apply, organisations need to be pre-registered by visiting the Energy Redress registration page.

Organisations that haven’t yet registered with the scheme must do so 10 working days before the relevant Fund closes to allow time for eligibility checks to take place.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on 22 August 2023. To apply follow the instructions on the Energy Redress website.

In the five years to March, the Energy Redress Scheme supported 470 projects with £81 million in grants. Projects included:

  • Boosting the uptake of whole-house retrofits
  • Energy advice services supporting vulnerable people.
  • Digital media to engage marginalised audiences with energy problems, including affordability
  • Research into the energy needs of elderly people and disabled people
  • Trialling new outreach or business models which enable households use more locally generated energy.

The Energy Saving Trust’s head of renewables Anthony Kyriakides said: “This latest round of funding will continue support for the positive and important work undertaken by charities in helping the most vulnerable households”.

“The funding will also support charities delivery of projects focused on achieving a Net Zero future and helping to ensure a just transition for as many people as possible.”

Ofgem collects voluntary payments from companies that may have breached Ofgem-administered rules. Energy Saving Trust manages the allocation of payments for the scheme, which has been in place for five years.

The scheme prioritises support for vulnerable energy consumers, the development of innovative products or services and the empowerment of consumers to reduce their carbon emissions.

For more, go to: energyredress.org.uk

The post £3 million offered before 22 August to energy co-ops & community campaigners appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/3-million-offered-before-22-august-to-energy-co-ops-community-campaigners/feed/ 0
April’s end of Energy Bill Relief threatens 370,000 small firms, says FSB https://theenergyst.com/aprils-end-of-energy-bill-relief-threatens-370000-small-business-says-fsb/ https://theenergyst.com/aprils-end-of-energy-bill-relief-threatens-370000-small-business-says-fsb/#respond Fri, 24 Mar 2023 10:28:19 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=19180 The end of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme eight days from today could threaten the future of hundreds of thousands of small firms, according to research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). With help for energy bills due to be radically downscaled from April 1, the trade group today warns that 370,000 small businesses […]

The post April’s end of Energy Bill Relief threatens 370,000 small firms, says FSB appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
The end of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme eight days from today could threaten the future of hundreds of thousands of small firms, according to research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

With help for energy bills due to be radically downscaled from April 1, the trade group today warns that 370,000 small businesses who fixed their energy deals last year may need to shrink, restructure or close when their bills revert to a higher price next week.

The Energy Bills Discount Scheme, the government’s replacement deal kicking in next month for a year, offers less support for small businesses. While market prices have stabilised for firms fixing their contracts now, or who are on variable tariffs, the FSB says those who fixed last year will see huge increases as they are locked into a high price before the Government’s relief.

The representative body quotes the example of a pub using 48,000 kWh per year in power and 192,000 kWh in gas which signed a new contract last August. Under the outgoing EBRS, the business would have received £60,000 off an estimated £85,000 annual bill. Under the incoming EBDS, the same business would receive only just over £2,000 in support, leaving it a bill to settle of nearly £83,000.

Many small businesses told FSB that their energy bills had soared three, four, five-fold or even more between 2021 and 2022 – shattering their budget plans, and in many cases making it unviable for them to remain open without the help provided by the EBRS.

FSB found that around 24% of small businesses are locked into energy contracts that were signed last year, at a time when wholesale prices were soaring, and over a quarter of this group (28%) could have to downsize, rethink their business model, or even close when they are hit by the rise in energy costs.

In the short term, FSB is appealing to energy companies for sympathy with the plight of small firms, and to allow them to renegotiate or ‘blend and extend’ their energy contracts, and benefit from significantly lower wholesale energy prices which are now available.

In the longer term, the organisation wants small firms’ progress towards Net Zero to be supported by the government through of a ‘Help to Green’ scheme. The measure would offer small firms a £5,000 voucher to invest in energy-saving or even energy-generating measures, such as better insulation, solar panels, or a heat pump.

This would reduce small firms’ carbon footprints and their energy bills at the same time, giving a huge boost to the UK’s net zero journey.

The Help to Green concept has been supported by a dozen other representative bodies, including British Chamber of Commerce, Institute of Directors and Make UK.

Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said:

“The jump in energy bills on April Fool’s Day won’t be a laughing matter but will be a shock to hundreds of thousands of small businesses, who signed up to fixed contracts when the government discount was guaranteed under EBRS.

“In a week’s time with the rollback of government support, this group of vulnerable small firms will see their bills revert to high rates. This cliff-edge will also hit consumers as businesses will have to raise prices to cope with soaring bills, driving up inflation.

“Some 370,000 small firms could also be forced to consider downsizing, restructuring or closing as it is impossible to pass on the full costs to customers, who cannot suddenly afford to pay £25 for a pizza or see the price of a pint double.

The post April’s end of Energy Bill Relief threatens 370,000 small firms, says FSB appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/aprils-end-of-energy-bill-relief-threatens-370000-small-business-says-fsb/feed/ 0
Government energy supports “misses out on big firms’ needs”, nPower finds https://theenergyst.com/government-energy-supports-misses-out-on-big-firms-needs-npower-finds/ https://theenergyst.com/government-energy-supports-misses-out-on-big-firms-needs-npower-finds/#respond Wed, 22 Mar 2023 12:58:21 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=19160 Two-thirds of larger businesses believe the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, due to come in next month – won’t go far enough to support them, a poll by supplier nPower has found. nPower Business Solutions’ annual Business Energy Tracker seeks 100 big commercial users’ views on energy’s place among boardroom concerns.  The 2023 figures show it […]

The post Government energy supports “misses out on big firms’ needs”, nPower finds appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
Two-thirds of larger businesses believe the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, due to come in next month – won’t go far enough to support them, a poll by supplier nPower has found.

nPower Business Solutions’ annual Business Energy Tracker seeks 100 big commercial users’ views on energy’s place among boardroom concerns.  The 2023 figures show it higher than last year, with 91% rating issues around bills and energy use as ‘concerning’ or ‘very concerning’.

Two years into record prices, 64% of organisations see energy costs as their biggest challenge over the next twelve months. Over 70% see the rises continuing into 2024.

75% of businesses want greater incentives from the government to reduce energy demand, respondents told pollsters.

A silver lining from the poll is that 44% believe high prices will focus directors’ minds on carrying out sound Net Zero strategies.  Bills at triple pre-Ukraine war levels or worse are pushing sustainability to the top of C-level agendas, the poll found.

Brought in last October as a 6-month protection for firms, the second phase of the scheme continues for a year from next month, albeit at reduced levels.

Organisations outside high-consuming categories such as cement, glass and other process industries will have costs capped, at a projected cost to tax-payers of no more than £5.5 billion.

Wholesale gas prices on world markets have almost halved in the six months of the EBDS, back to levels just before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Energy is the top concern for UK businesses for the second year running”, nBS Chief Operating Officer Anthony Ainsworth observed.

“The uncertainty over the past 12 months has naturally had an impact on business confidence, which is why they need policy clarity and consistency to help them plan ahead”.

“Despite such a challenging year, businesses still back Net Zero”, the nBS boss noted. “They recognise the environmental, commercial and reputational benefits it can bring”.

The post Government energy supports “misses out on big firms’ needs”, nPower finds appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/government-energy-supports-misses-out-on-big-firms-needs-npower-finds/feed/ 0
Boiler upgrade drive “fails due to poor Whitehall publicity”, eco-advisers claim https://theenergyst.com/boiler-upgrade-drive-fails-due-to-poor-whitehall-publicity-eco-advisers-claim/ https://theenergyst.com/boiler-upgrade-drive-fails-due-to-poor-whitehall-publicity-eco-advisers-claim/#respond Wed, 22 Mar 2023 11:46:23 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=19158 Renewable energy advisors The Eco Experts have joined criticism of the government’s failing Boiler Upgrade Scheme, saying online search data they’ve collated proves the government is under-publicising it. Launched in May, the £450 million drive has registered below half the replacements it was budgeted for. Last month a House of Lords committee slammed the initiative’s […]

The post Boiler upgrade drive “fails due to poor Whitehall publicity”, eco-advisers claim appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
Renewable energy advisors The Eco Experts have joined criticism of the government’s failing Boiler Upgrade Scheme, saying online search data they’ve collated proves the government is under-publicising it.

Launched in May, the £450 million drive has registered below half the replacements it was budgeted for. Last month a House of Lords committee slammed the initiative’s low-key promotion by Whitehall

Data from Google Trends collected by the advisory firm confirms strong consumer interest in ‘air source heat pumps’ over the last twelve months, they say, but minimal searches for the ‘boiler upgrade scheme’ or ‘heat pump grant’.

This lack of awareness around the scheme has resulted, the Eco Experts claim, in thousands of UK households missing out on its £5,000 grants, an upgraded eco-friendly heat source, and potential cuts energy bill costs. On average, they could have saved  50% of upfront costs for an average air source heat pump.

Searching nearly a year’s worth of Google Trends data, the advisory group found keen interest around ‘air source heat pumps’ last year, with UK searches for the term hitting peak popularity – 100 of Google Trends datfa- from in the week ending 17 December.

Yet interest around the ‘boiler upgrade scheme’ during the same year was significantly under-powered, with searches for the scheme peaking at a mere 15 – see chart – in April’s second week.

The search term ‘heat pump grant’ also registered low volumes. Its highest score was 28 – see chart – in the last week of March.

In 2022, search popularity for the ‘boiler upgrade scheme’ and ‘heat pump grant’ reached their highest scores before the government scheme had even launched, yet searches for ‘air source heat pumps’ peaked several months later. This data indicates, say the Eco Experts, that searches for the scheme never achieved the levels of interest reached by online searches for air source heat pumps.

“With the UK cost of living crisis leaving nearly 40% of people with no money at the end of the month, coupled with the threat of rising energy bills in April, UK homeowners are now in urgent need of financial support in regards to their energy usage. An air source heat pump will typically save £6,700 over its lifetime compared to a gas boiler, the Eco Experts allege.

The UK government launched its Boiler Upgrade Scheme in May 2022 to help households cut the cost of their energy bills, while encouraging sustainable living to help Britain achieve its net-zero ambitions.

But during the first five months of its launch, the scheme fulfilled just 33% of the heat pump installations it needed to reach its overall target. Data from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme shows that the number of heat pump installations has dropped  since the scheme began.

For the Eco Experts, researcher Josh Jackman commented: “The government has failed the public and the planet by refusing to publicise its own Boiler Upgrade Scheme in a year when consumer interest around air source heat pumps has reached peak popularity.

“This new data highlights the government’s two-faced approach to its climate targets: introduce a grant to tick a box, then neglect it completely”.

After ending the home-targeted Renewable Heat Incentive in 2022, this deliberate abandonment of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme takes the government’s record on providing UK households with energy-saving and affordable technology to a new low”.

To equip UK homeowners with tools to assess whether air source heat pumps could help to reduce their energy bills, the Eco Experts offer their own Air Source Heat Pump Cost Calculator.

In line with the government scheme, the group claim their tool instantly provides homeowners with the total average cost for a heat pump installation, and how much of their carbon footprint could be reduced.

Eco Experts researcher Jackman shares five tips for homeowners looking to install an air source heat pump:

  • Octopus are installing ASHPs for as little as £2,500 when supported by a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant. British Gas has promised to match any price.
  • Air source heat pumps typically last 20 years, double the life of a gas boiler.
  • Professionally servicing of a heat pump serviced is needed only two or three years.
  • The average home will need to replace one-third of its radiators with ones 2.5 times bigger.
  • Extra insulation and underfloor heating are worth considering, when maximising a new heat pump’s full potential.

The post Boiler upgrade drive “fails due to poor Whitehall publicity”, eco-advisers claim appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/boiler-upgrade-drive-fails-due-to-poor-whitehall-publicity-eco-advisers-claim/feed/ 0
Lords slam government over heat pumps replacing boilers https://theenergyst.com/lords-slam-government-over-heat-pumps-replacing-boilers/ https://theenergyst.com/lords-slam-government-over-heat-pumps-replacing-boilers/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2023 11:18:10 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=18981 Britain’s £450 million drive to strip out domestic boilers in favour of lower carbon heat pumps is under-publicised, under-staffed and under-performing, a committee of the House of Lords claims today. Uptake of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is lagging at less than half the intended rate since its launch in May, the Lords’ Environment & Climate […]

The post Lords slam government over heat pumps replacing boilers appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
Britain’s £450 million drive to strip out domestic boilers in favour of lower carbon heat pumps is under-publicised, under-staffed and under-performing, a committee of the House of Lords claims today.

Uptake of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is lagging at less than half the intended rate since its launch in May, the Lords’ Environment & Climate Change Committee says. It calls on ministers for urgent improvement, including carrying almost £80 million of unspent cash from its first year of budget into the second.

Low public awareness and a lack of trained technicians dog the scheme, the committee found.

The scheme offers £5,000 grants to qualifying homes seeking to upgrade heating from conventional gas boilers to electric heat pumps, in practice overwhelmingly air-sourced.  The Johnson administration expected the scheme to notch up 20,000 home instals for each of its three years.

Instead, figures for the BUS’s first nine months show that upgrades are running at an annual rate of only 10,000 or so.    The committee is asking that the unspent share of the full £150 million allocated for the subsidy’s first year be kept available into the second, and not clawed back by chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

At less than 7,700 completed instals before this month, completed replacements are running significantly behind the government’s release of funds to billpayers, reinforcing widely held fears among trade bodies about a shortage of qualified technicians.

With 17% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from homes, the committee’s chair Baroness Parminter reminds ministers in a letter today that the transition to low-carbon heat is fundamental to Net Zero.

“The government must quickly address the barriers we have identified to a successful take-up of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in order to help grow the take up of low-carbon heating systems. It is vital they do so if we are going to meet our Net Zero ambitions,” she writes.

Among those barriers, says the committee, are the government’s inadequate promotion of the scheme, the shortage of installers, and insufficient independent advice for householders.

Even with the grants, heat pumps remain too expensive for even middle-income homes, the peers allege.  As chancellor, Rishi Sunak scrapped VAT on heat pumps & low carbon home power in last March’s budget.

Last month British Gas offered purchase and installations of air source pumps starting at £3,000.  Last week Octopus undercut its rival, offering £2,500 for an entry level system. Most homes would pay only £4,000 for a pump with a 20-year life, said the supplier, double a conventional boiler’s.

Misleading messages including from the Government over hydrogen’s long term suitability to heat homes, adds to bill payers’ confusion, says the committee.

Fears over running costs could also deter pump take-up, say peers. Progress is urgently needed through electricity market reform to ensure they are affordable.

Methods for awarding Energy Performance Certificates need revision, their Lordships recommend, to properly reward households seeking to switch to low-carbon heating. Planning laws should be relaxed, so pumps can be sited closer to neighbouring homes.

Their pleas echo early awareness among tradespeople of the BUS’ failings. As early as July installers’ groups were calling for a rethink.  The following month, the Heat Pump Association called for radically expanded training to boost numbers of technician from 3,200 in 2021, to over 50,000 this decade.

More scathing criticism of the BUS, and of the peers’ desired improvements, came today from the century-old Energy & Utilities Alliance, representing trade bodies in water & industrial heating and equipment manufacture.

EUA CEO Mike Foster, “While we agree the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is failing, we want to see it scrapped, rather than see the recommendation of the committee to double-down on the flawed policy be supported.”

“Giving a £5,000 taxpayer handout to the well-off is immoral and simply cannot be justified when millions are living in fuel poverty and we all face a 20 per cent increase in our bills from April”, said the EUA head.

The Heat Pump Federation was more supportive, echoing the Lords’ strictures.

“The committee’s findings chime precisely with what heat pump installers and consumers are telling us”, said Bean Beanland, the HPF’s director of growth & external affairs.

“We are delighted that the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee finds that significant changes must be swiftly made to give the heat pump industry the opportunity to deliver on the original policy intent”.

“Heat pump take-up across the country is increasing, as is industry investment, but the BUS’s first year of operation has been challenging for all the reasons outlined by the Lords Committee,” the HPF spokesperson went on.

Improvements to the BUS, plus early Whitehall action on the fair pricing of increasingly low carbon electricity, would prime investment & training needed for the growth anticipated due to the Future Homes Standard expected in 2025 and the consulted-on ban in 2026 of replacement oil boilers in homes off the gas grid.

The post Lords slam government over heat pumps replacing boilers appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/lords-slam-government-over-heat-pumps-replacing-boilers/feed/ 1
“Red & yellow & pink & green”; Ministers seek to sing hydrogen’s simpler rainbow https://theenergyst.com/pink-ministers-seek-to-sing-hydrogens-simpler-rainbow/ https://theenergyst.com/pink-ministers-seek-to-sing-hydrogens-simpler-rainbow/#respond Thu, 09 Feb 2023 13:40:45 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=18902 Standardising hydrogen’s often confusing palette of colours and sources is the government’s aim in its proposed new certification scheme, announced today. Verifying the sustainability of the gas’ manufacturing method, and thus boosting investors’ confidence to expand Britain’s hydrogen economy, are motives for Whitehall’s desired new classification framework. Supported by a six-month extension of Jane Toogood’s […]

The post “Red & yellow & pink & green”; Ministers seek to sing hydrogen’s simpler rainbow appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
Standardising hydrogen’s often confusing palette of colours and sources is the government’s aim in its proposed new certification scheme, announced today.

Verifying the sustainability of the gas’ manufacturing method, and thus boosting investors’ confidence to expand Britain’s hydrogen economy, are motives for Whitehall’s desired new classification framework.

Supported by a six-month extension of Jane Toogood’s spell as Britain’s first Hydrogen Champion, minsters hope a certification standard will help cement the UK’s place in the global race to ramp up hydrogen technology, and incentivise production, investment and use.

Producers currently have no recognised yardstick to prove the credentials of their low carbon hydrogen. A reliable rule to demonstrate emissions during its creation is needed, ministers believe, so Britain can strip planet-cooking carbon from our hydrogen sector, thereby avoiding turf wars, including between its green variety, electrolysed with renewable power, and the cheaper, more polluting blue hue, steam-cleaned from oil and gas.

That battle over gauging hydrogen’s relative pollution levels cost ex-premier Johnson a highly placed hydrogen advisor two years agoChris Jackson, boss of Protium Green Solutions quit his leadership of a key Whitehall committee, only hours before Johnson launched his Hydrogen Strategy.  Jackson slammed the policy’s inclusion of blue hydrogen as an ‘expensive distraction’.

Aiming to introduce the certification scheme by 2025, Whitehall will now begin consultations with industry.

At stake is emissions avoided as hydrogen moves into new roles, including as feedstock products such as fertilisers, making low carbon steel, and replacing methane-based ‘natural gas’ in high temperature glass- or ceramics-making.

Ahead of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science this week, the UK government has extended the appointment of the country’s first-ever Hydrogen Champion, Jane Toogood, for a further six months.

Toogood’s role as Hydrogen Champion is key to bringing industry and government together to accelerate the development of the UK hydrogen economy. To date, she has met stakeholders across industry to assess opportunities and identify barriers to achieving this.

“Consumers and businesses care about investing sustainably, “said energy junior minister Graham Stuart.

“Thanks to this new scheme, investors and producers will be able to confidently identify and invest in trusted, high-quality British sources of low carbon hydrogen, both home and abroad.

The gas’ champion Jane Toogood observed: Hydrogen is an essential piece of the puzzle to decarbonise UK industry, and improve our long-term energy security”.

“It’s great to see progress being made towards setting up a UK certification scheme – this is key to growing a low carbon hydrogen economy.

“Over the next six months, my priority will be to ensure that industry and government work together to generate investment in the hydrogen economy, kickstart hydrogen production and develop a UK hydrogen supply chain.

The post “Red & yellow & pink & green”; Ministers seek to sing hydrogen’s simpler rainbow appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/pink-ministers-seek-to-sing-hydrogens-simpler-rainbow/feed/ 0
Infrastructure Bank offers councils £4 billion for heat networks, as D-BEIS warms three towns’ carbon-less cockles https://theenergyst.com/infrastructure-bank-offers-councils-4-billion-for-heat-networks-as-d-beis-warms-three-towns-carbon-less-cockles/ https://theenergyst.com/infrastructure-bank-offers-councils-4-billion-for-heat-networks-as-d-beis-warms-three-towns-carbon-less-cockles/#respond Tue, 20 Dec 2022 15:31:12 +0000 https://theenergyst.com/?p=18629 More than £30 million from public funds is set to benefit heat networks in Hull, Peterborough & Wigan. Projects in the first two cities are early beneficiaries of the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF), a £288 million, three-year funding programme launched in March. Over 14,000 centrally managed heat networks exist across Britain, providing heating and […]

The post Infrastructure Bank offers councils £4 billion for heat networks, as D-BEIS warms three towns’ carbon-less cockles appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
More than £30 million from public funds is set to benefit heat networks in Hull, Peterborough & Wigan.

Projects in the first two cities are early beneficiaries of the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF), a £288 million, three-year funding programme launched in March.

Over 14,000 centrally managed heat networks exist across Britain, providing heating and hot water to an estimated 480,000 consumers.  Seizing scale economies which avoid independent gas boilers in each building, the networks’ energy sources can make a big contribution to ridding Britain’s dwellings and workplaces of carbon.

Hull and Peterborough will receive more than £27 million from the funding pot, boosting city-specific initiatives including heat pumps, solar and geothermal energy, all capable of pumping low carbon heat at scale.   Annual emissions savings across both towns are anticipated, equivalent to taking 5.6 million cars off the road.

In Lancashire, Wigan will benefit from £2.6 million, one of the final awards from the £320 million Heat Networks Investment Project, set up in 2018 by D-BEIS’ forerunner DECC.

Energy minister Lord Callanan said:  “It’s vital that we invest in cutting edge technologies, like heat networks, that move us away from heating our homes and businesses with carbon-emitting fossil fuels.

“I’m delighted to see that, through the Green Heat Network Fund, ground-breaking projects will be developed at pace to the benefit of communities, moving us away from soaring energy bills and delivering cheaper, greener energy”.

In a further investment boost for heat networks, councils will now be offered streamlined access to the UK Infrastructure Bank’s £4 billion of loans, earmarked for town halls eager to profit from GHNF funding.

John Flint, CEO of UK Infrastructure Bank, said: ”Heat networks provide an innovative and proven solution which can help tackle the Net Zero and local growth challenges. Helping local authorities unlock access to finance for these projects will be crucial.

“The bank is well placed to play a significant role in supporting the development of heat networks and we are pleased to be taking the next step through our new partnership with D-BEIS in fulfilment of this ambition”, Flint added.

Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management is contracted to deliver both government pump-primers. Programme director Ken Hunnisett said:

“It will be such a pleasure to work with the teams in Hull and Peterborough to deliver these fantastic, real-world, clean energy infrastructure projects that will generate local jobs and provide heat to local communities, all during the life of the Green Heat Network Fund.

“Such has been the pace at which the new fund has launched that we are still announcing the late-stage successes of its predecessor, the Heat Network Investment Project.” Hunnisett observed.

“The new network at the heart of the redeveloped Galleries Shopping Centre in Wigan will be delivering low carbon heat to retail, leisure, and residential premises within the next three years”.

The post Infrastructure Bank offers councils £4 billion for heat networks, as D-BEIS warms three towns’ carbon-less cockles appeared first on theenergyst.com.

]]>
https://theenergyst.com/infrastructure-bank-offers-councils-4-billion-for-heat-networks-as-d-beis-warms-three-towns-carbon-less-cockles/feed/ 0