UKERC raises concern over Green Deal ‘rationale’

Following last month’s publication of consultative documents, a report from the UK Energy Research Centre is said to welcome proposal within the Green Deal to stimulate the use of solid wall insulation. Also it praises the detailed consultation on some of the proposals.

But it raises serious concerns that the rationale for some decisions has not been sufficiently well covered, and that key issues – such as how to prevent the ‘Big 6’ energy companies from dominating the market, or overcome the barriers preventing local authorities from engaging in local partnerships – have not been addressed.

UKERC would welcome greater clarification as to how the Green Deal will fit with and complement other reforms and initiatives being proposed, such as the renewable heat incentive, and feed-in tariffs.

UKERC points out that while Green Deal aims to reduce carbon emissions cost effectively by revolutionising the energy efficiency of British properties, criticism by the Committee on Climate Change suggests that it is unlikely to deliver this objective.

In fact, the Government’s own impact assessment confirms that the rate of energy efficiency improvement will be less than 25% than is currently being achieved. In other words the proposed policy change will reduce policy effectiveness, not improve it.

The UKERC response was compiled by Dr Nick Eyre (University of Oxford), Jan Rosenow (University of Oxford), Joanne Wade (independent researcher) and Dr Charlie Wilson (University of East Anglia).

Closely linked with UKERC’s comment on the ‘Big 6’ energy companies, the National Home Improvement Council in conjunction with the National Federation of Roofing Contractors has been leading the debate on the important issues concerning the Green Deal-based relationship between SMEs and major Providers. On going details will appear in these website columns.

Photo source: UKERC

More information: www.ukerc.ac.uk/