Electricity bills could be slashed to persuade homeowners to abandon gas boilers by 2035 under green plans to be outlined within weeks. Nearly a quarter of consumers’ bills currently cover taxes to pay for policies, including subsidies for renewable energy and fuel vouchers for poorer households. Ministers believe these additional costs are acting as a major barrier to get people to heat their homes on low carbon electricity alternatives such as heat pumps, at a time when gas prices are lower. The Government wants heat pumps to replace 600,000 gas boilers every year from 2028, and will announce that costs will be removed from electricity in the coming years in its upcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy. The move is part of an ambition to end the sale of gas boilers from 2035, and from 2025 in new homes, most of them to be replaced by air or ground source heat pumps, which use electricity to pull in heat from the air or ground to supply a hot water tank. However, households switching to heat pumps are currently paying on average £408 more in energy bills compared to running a gas boiler. A consultation announced in the strategy will decide how much of the 23 per cent of policy costs will be removed from electricity, and how the £10 billion they bring in will be recouped by the Treasury. Options to recover the costs include transferring the levies directly to gas bills, or adding them to general taxation, but the Government is likely to be wary of any policy that increases taxes or drives up fuel bills. Moving the costs directly from electricity to gas will make the average fuel bill for a home using a gas boiler around £70 more expensive, according to analysis by consultancy Public First, but would make running a heat pump £200 cheaper than a boiler. Gas boilers account for around 17 per cent of the UK’s overall emissions. More than 23 million homes will have to make the switch, which currently entails thousands of pounds in upfront costs for equipment, installation, and retrofitting insulation. “Unless the Government changes the running costs of heating your homes, they’re never going to meet their net zero target,” said Rachel Wolf, one of the founders of Public First and co-author of the Conservative’s 2019 manifesto. But she said enacting the policy would be a balancing act for the Government.
Telegraph 7th May 2021 read more »
Dedicated goals for onshore and floating wind technologies, green hydrogen, and marine energy would drive investment in the sector and set example ahead of COP26 Summit, trade group argues. RenewableUK has called on the government to establish dedicated 2030 capacity targets for onshore wind, floating wind, green hydrogen, and marine energy deployment, arguing that clear goals for different clean energy technologies would accelerate progress towards the UK’s near-term climate goals. In a report published this morning, the trade body has urged the government to match its commitment to deliver 40GW of offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade with similar plans to deliver 30GW of onshore wind, 2GW of floating wind, 1GW of marine energy, and 5GW of green hydrogen capacity.
Business Green 7th May 2021 read more »
European Marine Energy Centre 7th May 2021 read more »
RenewableUK is urging Ministers to set specific, legally binding 2030 targets for renewable energy generation to help deliver its net-zero target, including growing the nation’s onshore wind capacity to 30GW. The call to action is detailed in a new report from the trade body today (7 May). While praising the Government for its recent decision to adopt the Climate Change Committee’s Sixth Carbon Budget, which requires the UK to reduce net emissions by 78% by 2035 against a 2019 baseline, the report argues that the Budget could be breached without clearer pathways for specific forms of renewable energy generation. The report argues that Boris Johnson’s vision for the UK to host 40GW of offshore wind by 2030 should be matched with equally ambitious targets for onshore wind, marine energy and green hydrogen.
Edie 7th May 2021 read more »
Business Green 7th May 2021 read more »
Raising the bar: the world-leading energy commitments the UK should make ahead of COP26.
Renewable UK 7th May 2021 read more »