Heat

Time to be smart about financing net zero

Limited ‘window of opportunity’ to bolster UK infrastructure

The UK is at risk of missing the “window of opportunity” to prepare the country’s infrastructure for the effects of climate change, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and Climate Change Committee (CCC) have warned. The two organisations have urged ministers to urgently develop more effective plans to improve the resilience of infrastructure, in a joint letter sent to deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden and environment secretary Thérèse Coffey. They warn that not doing so puts the country’s infrastructure at risk.

National Gas Transmission wins funding for hydrogen ‘backbone’

Shapps: Levy likely to be introduced to fund social tariff

Grant Shapps has hinted that any social tariff for low-income households is likely to be paid for via a levy. Giving evidence to the House of Lords environment and climate change committee, the energy secretary revealed that he and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are likely to consult on the introduction of a social tariff this autumn. Shapps was also pressed to give more clarity on the government’s timetable for a decision on the future of home heating.

Scrap heat pump and solar planning rules, urges thinktank

Planning rules on the installation of rooftop solar panels and heat pumps should be scrapped, a new report by an influential right-wing thinktank has urged. The Policy Exchange’s report, Re-engineering regulation: an A-Z of reform, outlines 26 case studies of regulation with "unintended, perverse consequences".

Peers back tougher home energy efficiency targets

The House of Lords has backed tough new energy efficiency targets, including that all homes to meet the EPC (energy performance certificate) Band C standard by 2035. Peers voted by 227 votes to 197 to back a Labour amendment setting out the tightening up of minimum energy efficiency standards

SSEN forecasts 1,300% increase in heat pumps by 2030

Grid connection delays are ‘unacceptable’, minister admits

Long waits for developers to secure grid connections are “unacceptable”, energy ministers have said during DESNZ question time. Energy secretary Grant Shapps also said the introduction of a cut price social tariff for low income customers “could be very helpful”.

Long-duration storage is the next frontier in the UK’s energy storage leadership

Energy security concerns fuel business appetite for hydrogen

Mounting concerns about energy security are leading business leaders to back hydrogen as part of their energy improvement strategies. Businesses now view energy security and resilience as the second biggest threat to their organisations, according to Centrica’s survey on businesses decarbonisation plans.

Weekend Press: High costs and uncertainties cast a chill over Britain’s heat pump market

Wales & West to use wastewater in hydrogen trial

£90m of boiler upgrade funding lost after not being spent

Record Cold Weather Payments 430 times more than forecast  

Octopus calls out hydrogen champion’s ‘misleading’ claims

A coalition of 20 organisations including Octopus Energy, E3G and the UK Green Building Council have called on the government to reject recommendations made by hydrogen champion Jane Toogood. The coalition has labelled Toogood’s report on hydrogen and heat electrification as “misleading” and warns that accepting her recommendations risks driving up consumer bills and could undermine the government’s targets on heat pumps.