FITs, CESP, HESS, RHI, GD…..no, not the remnants from a particularly intense game of scrabble, this is in fact, the Governments low carbon plan for the domestic sector. Confused? Well it’s not really surprising.
The last few weeks have seen the Government make something of a u-turn on its renewables strategy with the announcement of it’s plan to bring the successful FIT (Feed In Tariff) scheme to a premature end. This stands in stark contrast to last month’s announcement of the Green Deal, its latest attempt to drive forward the low carbon economy.
Where then does this leave those in the domestic sector who are interested in energy efficiency and reducing their carbon footprint. Well there are still a plethora of schemes, incentives, and programmes being pushed by the government to encourage the shift to a lower carbon economy – the challenge comes in unpicking this tangle of related initiatives and understanding exactly what is on offer.
So, Feed In Tariffs (FITs), the scheme allowing consumers to be paid for generating electricity via solar panels, and for exporting any unused energy onto the grid, is on the way out, but what is left?
- for starters there is the Green Deal (the latest flagship initiative) – a funding mechanism to improve the energy efficiency of residential properties through measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation. Newly announced, with the details still being worked out, this is unique in that the outstanding balance for any improvement works completed stays with the property with the new homeowner picking up the remaining cost through their energy bills.
- then we have the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) – a ‘whole-house’ approach to improving energy efficiency in 4500 lower income housing areas. This is differentiated from the Green Deal, firstly in its focus on the whole house, and secondly via its emphasis on engagement and involvement of community groups, local authorities, and energy companies.
- we also have the Heat and Energy Saving Strategy (HESS) – a strategic assessment by the Government of the best approach to encourage energy savings in the UK’s housing stock. This focuses on outlining the mechanisms by which homes can be made more efficient for example via direct measures such as insulation, through to the consideration of new building regulations to drive energy saving measures.
- and finally, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) – emerging from the HESS, and to be available alongside the Green Deal, this scheme looks to promote the adoption of renewable heat measures and will make available incentive payments to consumers who adopt renewable heat technologies such as air and ground-source heat pumps, and wood-chip boilers.
Given the above, it is not all that surprising that, to the layman at least, the picture is confusing. For the well-intentioned homeowner looking to improve the efficiency of their houses, it is not clear which way they should turn.
Why has this confusing state emerged? It can be suggested that the recent transition in Government has led to a flurry of activity, on the part of the in-coming and out-going parties, aimed at shoring up their manifestos and courting the public with a range of low-carbon opportunities. It could also be proposed that this emergence of a range of policies and measures is inevitable given the rapidly developing body of knowledge regarding the low-carbon economy. What role too has Europe played, with the need to ensure alignment with wider EU policy?
How we have arrived here is not clear, however let us hope that the best intentions sit behind this spider-web of measures, policies, and payments. Furthermore, let us hope, that as policy makers continue to engage with this topic, common sense wins through – let us hope that we arrive at a joined up, coordinated, and ultimately straightforward low carbon plan – one that looks less like the output from an over enthusiastic Government brainstorm, and more like a clear and simple policy that we can all understand! Surely only then can we set off down the path towards a lower carbon economy……
Posted by David Wing on the 17th of November 2011
