News: November 2011

The launch this week of the government’s Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) consultation document provided many in the industry with their first in-depth view of the Green Deal and the first real opportunity to offer feedback on the proposals.

However, given recent questions over the government’s green credentials, says the UK-GBC, industry needs certainty around the government’s long-term commitment to the Green Deal to enable it to deliver effectively.

Paul King, CEO of UK-GBC commented: “We welcome the launch of this much-anticipated document. The Green Deal has the potential to be game-changing by creating a huge new low carbon refurbishment market and giving the industry a much-needed jobs boost, as well as tackling spiraling fuel bills and creating better quality, more comfortable places for us to live and work.

“However, in order to ensure sufficient take-up of the scheme, this document must be backed up by announcements from the Chancellor next week, outlining how they will incentivise take-up amongst home owners and building occupiers.

“Also, given recent announcements from government which have dented investor confidence – such as the cuts to the Feed-in Tariff – the government must articulate a clear, long-term vision for the Green Deal so that industry has the confidence to invest and ensure it has the skills to deliver.

“We will be working closely with our members in the coming weeks to gather their views, and to provide detailed feedback to DECC on their proposals. UK-GBC will also be seeking views on the consultation document at our upcoming Green Deal Consultation Workshop with Greg Barker, his officials and leading industry experts.”

Garry Worthington, head of Green Deal for Climate Energy, said: “The publication of the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation consultation document represents a significant milestone in the development of these revolutionary and unique schemes.

“Working in tandem, Green Deal and the ECO will drive the demand for improving the energy efficiency of our housing stock and businesses, and will create a practical framework for delivery both nationally and locally.

“We are particularly pleased to see the proposal to appoint a Green Deal oversight body and an ECO administrator, and hope these two organisations will promote and facilitate regional and local Green Deal schemes to benefit local communities and businesses, and create new employment opportunities.

Neil Marshall, chief executive of the National Insulation Association commented: “The Green Deal and ECO have the potential to transform the energy efficiency of our housing stock and we will be carefully considering the proposals set out in the consultation in the coming weeks and responding to these.”

Marshall also highlighted a number of key areas that will need to be addressed in order to maximise the success of the Green Deal and ECO: a high level consumer awareness and engagement programme; additional incentives to drive consumer take-up; and a robust delivery plan to support the transition from cavity wall insulation and loft insulation to solid wall insulation.

The Mineral Wool Insulation Manufacturers Association (MIMA) welcomed the consultation paper but also cautioned that government needs to better understand the significant shift in the insulation market that will result as a consequence of the current proposals.

MIMA executive director Syed Ahmed stated: “We strongly welcome the government’s commitment to increasing the energy efficiency of the nation’s building stock. Concerns over increasing energy costs, energy security and the rise in the number of fuel poor households all strongly point to an urgent need to make our homes and businesses more energy efficient.

“Analysis undertaken by government for the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) show that the vast majority of the benefits delivered through these programmes will be attributable to insulation measures.

“However, government must recognise that a virtual overnight transition from a market dominated by loft and cavity wall insulation to one primarily delivering solid wall insulation (SWI) – with a potential tenfold increase over existing levels of SWI installation as is being proposed in today’s consultation paper – holds great risks for the quality of installation, the level of Green Deal uptake, and to the insulation industry as a whole.

“Recent research has identified that over 7 million solid walls, 6 million cavity walls, and 10 million lofts still need to be insulated. From these figures and from the many discussions that have taken place over the year, it is clear that more drivers and greater incentives are required to ensure the Green Deal is an attractive proposition to householders, especially during the roll out stages next autumn.”

Andrew Mellor, partner at PRP noted: “There are no real surprises within the consultation and I need to look at it in more detail. There is no detailed financial information and it’s confirmed the eco subsidies are not going to be awarded to social housing which will obviously have an impact.”

The microgeneration industry expressed great disappointment. Micropower Council chief executive Dave Sowden said: “The government appears to have ignored completely the views of the microgeneration industry and a much wider coalition, expressed consistently over the last eighteen months.

“The current proposals for Green Deal pay scant attention to the potential for microgeneration, a key catalyst in driving consumer interest in energy efficiency, the most cost-effective means of reducing bills and carbon.

“The failure to include microgeneration in the Green Deal in any meaningful way will seriously jeopardise likely future consumer interest in energy upgrades, thereby making this policy little more than a Great Green Gamble.”

As Eco Building Live went to press Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander announced £200m of new and additional government to provide a special time-limited ‘introductory’ offer to boost the early take up of the government's Green Deal energy efficiency scheme.

Alexander said: “I can announce today that as part of the Autumn Statement we will provide £200m of funding for new and additional support to enable a special time-limited ‘introductory offer’ for the Green Deal. An offer that could save early adopters hundreds of pounds. A fund to get the Green Deal off to a flying start. One that will work with the Green Deal mechanism and the ECO to motivate thousands of more consumers to take up energy efficiency measures, over the next two years.”

DECC’s Green Deal Consultation documents can be found here. The deadline for responses is 18 January 2012.