England’s much-hyped £2bn green homes grant is in chaos, renewable energy installers say, with some owed tens of thousands of pounds and struggling to stay in business. Members of the public have been left waiting nearly four months, in some cases, to take advantage of the scheme to fit low carbon heating systems. Some installers say customers are pulling out after losing faith in the green grants. Boris Johnson touted the grants as one of the key programmes in his ten 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution. It aims to help 600,000 households switch their energy to low carbon and help the UK meet its commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Ministers awarded the contract to run the programme to ICF, a large American consulting corporation based in Virginia. Details of the value of the government contract have not yet been published.
Guardian 26th Jan 2021 read more »
Scotland is facing a bill of “tens of billions” of pounds to retro-fit homes across the country and bring them in line with net-zero carbon ambitions, MSPs have been told. Holyrood’s environment committee heard concerns on Tuesday the authorities have yet to grasp the “scale” of the change required to address climate change, from a leading Green investment expert. But the head of the new Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) told MSPs there was a “huge amount” of investment available for the institution to help drive the country’s push towards a low carbon economy. Andy Kerr, UK and Ireland director with green investment and change firm Climate-KIC, said the plan and establishment of the SNIB was welcome. But he said: “If you look at the scale of the funding required to genuinely transform our cities, our regions, our towns and our industrial sectors, there is still quite a mismatch.
Scotsman 26th Jan 2021 read more »