Accelerated heat pump rollout would have limited impact by next winter

An accelerated rollout of heat pumps would have a “fairly small” impact by next winter in terms of mitigating any shortfalls in gas supplies resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a leading energy academic has stated. Jim Watson, professor of energy policy at University College London, said this move is nevertheless necessary as: “If we don’t start now, we won’t get that marginal gain and the bigger gain in the next winter and a bigger one the winter after that.”