The Government has announced £200 million of extra funding to encourage households and businesses to sign up to the Green Deal when the scheme launches next year.
The money, which was announced by the
Treasury, will be used as a sweetener to boost take up of the
Green Deal, which launches in October 2012. Customers will be offered special time-limited introductory offers on
energy efficiency products and services in a bid to get the multi-billion pound Government scheme off the ground. It follows concerns amongst businesses that the scheme is not well enough known or understood amongst the general public and that there is a general lack of enthusiasm for
energy efficiency measures amongst householders.
Announcing the funding, today, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said the offer could save early adopters "hundreds of pounds".
It is not clear yet how exactly the money will be spent, but yesterday Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said the Government was consulting on a £150 cashback for householders that took up the Green Deal.
"This big injection of Government funding delivers on our promise to ensure the Green Deal hits the ground running, and make it as attractive as possible so that people start to benefit from day one," Huhne said.
The Green Deal will enable homeowners and businesses to access loans for loft and cavity wall insulation, lagging and other energy efficiency measures. A rule of the scheme is that repayments, made via a surcharge on energy bills, are never more than the savings realised through the energy efficiency investments. The Government wants to insulate 14 million homes between now and 2020 through the scheme.
Concerns over take-up
Huhne yesterday said the Green Deal would kick start £14 billion of investment over the next decade in energy saving upgrades and would create at least 65,000 insulation and construction jobs by 2015. But energy companies are amongst those concerned that take up of the scheme might be slow. British Gas has been offering free insulation to its domestic customers for some time but has found take up to be slow, while a survey by E.ON in September found that one in 10 UK households "can’t be bothered" to have their homes insulated.
But today, the Government re-affirmed its commitment to the Green Deal.
"We want the Green Deal to be a game changer for British consumers who've been buffeted by global energy prices. The earlier you Green Deal your home, the quicker you'll benefit from a warmer and cosier property as well as protect yourself from rocketing prices," said Huhne.
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esterday it emerged that the Government was also trying to help smaller Green Deal providers by enabling them to benefit from up to half of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), a new initiative whereby consumer energy companies will have to provide £1.3 billion a year in energy efficiency upgrades for low income and hard to insulate homes under the Green Deal.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change said further details of how the Treasury's £200 million sweetener fund will be spent would be announced next year.
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