Mar 22 2007
50% increase in funding for householders to install small scale renewables such as micro wind turbines and solar panels was announced in the Budget today.
It will take the total available under the Low Carbon Building Programme to more than £18million. At the same time the scheme is to be re-shaped to make best use of the extra funding. Proposals will be brought forward in May.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said:
"With this extra £6m there is now £18m for homeowners who want to go low carbon.
"There has been exceptional demand for grants under the Low Carbon Building Programme. We are backing it. But there have been problems in meeting that unprecedented demand. We will re-structure the scheme to make it work better.
"We want many more people to be able to install low carbon technologies on their homes to help reduce damaging carbon emissions. This extra money will help us do it. Good for homeowners and the environment."
While the scheme is re-structured the decision has been taken to suspend it for the April allocation. It's important that this final additional funding for household renewables, due to end in mid 2008, is used to best effect to bring on a microgeneration sector that can stand on its own two feet without further subsidy.
DTI Ministers will be meeting with industry to discuss how best to operate the new scheme and will announce the way forward in May.
There were also a number of other ways of encouraging microgeneration in today's Budget.
We will be consulting this spring on EEC3 and how microgeneration can be included within the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) as a measure energy suppliers can provide to their customers to meet their commitments.
It also set out the intention that by 2020 all householders will have been offered help to introduce energy efficient measures with the aim that, where practical, all homes will be able to achieve their energy efficiency potential.
These initiatives, along with the waiving of income tax on any surplus electricity sold back to the grid by microgenerators, add up to a major focus on reducing carbon emissions from our homes.