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Renewable Heat proposal attracts widespread support |
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14 Sep 2010, 6:34 PM
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An Early Day Motion on Renewable Heat tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday 9th September by Andrew George and supported by the first Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas, among others, claims that currently 47 per cent. of current UK carbon emissions, and 49 per cent. of energy consumption, come from non-renewable heat energy and says that the UK delivers a lower proportion of its heating needs from renewable sources than any other country in Europe, apart from Malta.
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The full text of the motion is as follows - 'That this House welcomes the Tariff Coalition's Half the Problem campaign, aimed at raising the share of UK heat energy that comes from renewable sources; recognises that 47 per cent. of current UK carbon emissions, and 49 per cent. of energy consumption, come from non-renewable heat energy; notes that the UK delivers a lower proportion of its heating needs from renewable sources than any other country in Europe, apart from Malta; further recognises that stop-start grant schemes have created an insecure investment climate within the UK, and that current political uncertainty is seriously undermining investment in the renewable heat sector; endorses the Government's commitment to bring in a renewable heat tariff by April 2011, to deliver 12 per cent. of UK heat from renewable sources by 2020; further recognises the benefits this will bring to UK jobs and energy security as well as to woodland biodiversity, waste management and climate change targets; and calls on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make sure that these pledges are givenpriority in the October Spending Review.
Velux is supporting the motion and asking its local MPs for Kettering and Glenrothes to add their support to the cross-party campaign.
Kevin Brennan, Head of Sustainability at the company comments: “If the country is serious about becoming a low carbon economy, we should be placing more emphasis on increasing the amount of UK heat energy generated by renewable sources. The technology is there, with the potential for a substantial reduction in carbon emissions; it is the awareness and the incentives that are lacking.
“The Government needs to implement a clear strategy that will encourage investment and enable the UK’s renewable heat industry to take off and compete with those in Europe. The Renewable Heat Incentive will have a vital part to play in this programme and we urge the coalition to grant priority to the scheme in the October Spending Review and roll it out as planned in April 2011.”
The CBI is also urging the Government to develop a clear strategy to reduce carbon emissions from heat, including encouraging the use of surplus industrial heat to warm homes.
A new report launched at the CBI’s energy conference says cutting emissions from heat is crucial to meeting legally-binding carbon reduction targets by 2050 and mitigating rising energy costs.
But the organisation warns that existing heat policy is fragmented and complex, and calls on the Government to review the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which will subsidise homeowners and businesses that want to install low-carbon heat technologies.
Dr Neil Bentley, Director for Business Environment, said: “Heating for domestic homes and industry accounts for almost half of all energy used in the UK, and cutting emissions here could take us a long way towards reaching our carbon targets. There are lots of exciting technologies that can make a difference, but getting them off the ground needs investment, so the principle of an incentive scheme makes sense.
But some renewable heat technologies such as solar panels won’t always offer good value for money, so the RHI must have inbuilt limits on how much can be spent on individual technologies. One of the most cost-effective ways of reducing heat emissions is by insulating homes and businesses, and this should be the first step for anyone seeking to improve energy efficiency.
We also need to think ‘outside the box’ more. Linking surplus heat from industrial sites into local homes through district heating schemes could be an efficient and cost-effective way to reduce heat emissions, but existing Government policy won’t encourage this sort of innovation”
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