Birmingham's Retrofit Scheme Highlighted During Visit of Secretary of State
6th June 2012
Birmingham City Council's efforts to be at the forefront of the green revolution took centre stage during a Ministerial visit.
The Council hosted a visit by Edward Davey MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, during which he learned about the the pioneering Birmingham Energy Savers (BES) scheme, ahead of the launch of the Government's own Green New Deal later this year.
BES has already enabled more than 1,000 homes and other council buildings to benefit from environmentally-friendly retrofit work. This includes energy saving measures such as solar panels, and a project partner for the next BES phase, improving 15,000 owner-occupied homes, is due to be named in the autumn.
During the visit, the Secretary of State heard how the scheme could be worth £1.55 billion if all of the interested public bodies join Birmingham's scheme, creating 3,000 jobs for the City in the process.
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Drive to Tackle Fuel Poverty in Scotland
6th June 2012
A massive programme to transform Scotland's ageing houses into energy efficient homes has been announced.
The Scottish Government hopes to work with energy companies to identify around £200 million a year to assist homes in areas of fuel poverty save money and become more energy efficient.
This new programme will offer a range of free or discounted heating and home insulation measures to people living in older homes across Scotland who struggle with fuel poverty.
This will build on the successes of current fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes, which are due to save households across Scotland some £700 million in total.
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Green Deal Survey of MPs Produces Worrying Results
7th June 2012
The results of a Green Deal survey of MPs have revealed some surprising statistics.
The research, which was conducted on behalf of Dods Green Deal Dialogue Group, surveyed 100 MPs between January and February 2012, spanning the three major political parties.
On the promotion of the scheme, the survey found that more than a fifth (21%) were unlikely to promote the scheme, 20% said they were neither likely nor unlikely to champion it while 11%. Only 49% of MPs will promote uptake of the Green Deal in their constituencies.
The results also reveal a lack of familiarity among MPs with the Government's flagship green policy. Only 59% said they understood the concept behind the Green Deal while 21% admitted they did not.
This figure increased to 35% for those MPs that did not know how the scheme would be paid for with only 30% saying they had grasped its funding structure.
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Three Things You Didn't Know About the Green Deal Finance Company
12th June 2012
As the green deal becomes more of a reality, many questions are being asked about how it will be financed.
The Green Deal Finance Company is likely to provide support for some organisations to leverage up their funding and Sustainable Homes have provided a useful briefing paper on the key issues involved.
The article can be accessed via this link.
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Green Deal Changes Announced
25th June 2012
The Government have announced new information on how the Green Deal and ECO will work, along with nationwide briefings for potential suppliers.
Government intends that over 14million homes will be improved through the Green Deal by 2020 and affordable housing providers are expected to play a key part.
This article from Sustainable Homes covers the key issues and provides a usefull update. To read it in full click here.
