Dozen energy efficiency projects win funding

The government has awarded £14.3 million to projects including a solar panel subscription service and one offering green mortgages to help consumers improve their energy efficiency.

A total of 12 projects have been awarded the funding from the £20 million Green Home Finance Accelerator programme, which is funded through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.

Among those receiving funding include Sunsave, which has been awarded £1.9 million for its new solar panel subscription service – Electric Roof – which aims to reduce the barriers to the widespread installation of solar panels.

This project will allow homeowners to pay a monthly fee for their solar panels, covering their monitoring and maintenance, rather than an upfront cost. It will also include gaining access to smart tariffs.

Elsewhere Eon has received £1 million to pilot a “one-stop-shop for energy advice and funding for up to 350 households for low-carbon technology such as heat pumps, solar panels and battery storage”.

The pilot, being run in North West England, will allow homeowners to get an air source heat pump, solar panels and a battery fitted for as little as £150 a month, over a 20-year period, covering the installation, servicing, maintenance and breakdown cover, support and optimisation.

Chris Norbury, Eon UK chief executive, said: “Bundling the technology along with service is commonplace for the many millions of people around the UK who have a mobile phone contract.

“We’re bringing the same flexibility to energy customers so they can benefit from the transition to cleaner and greener homes without the need to find the upfront finance.

“This is a game-changer for home heating and makes sustainable energy more affordable in the first place, while lowering bills in the longer term and helping transform the energy system.”

Other companies receiving funding include Scroll Finance Limited which will receive £1.5 million to pilot a project that uses equity in a home to provide a loan that funds the upfront costs of installing energy saving measures “in a flexible and affordable way”.

Additionally Perenna will receive £888,000 to develop a long-term, fixed-rate green mortgage which will incentivise customers to make their homes more energy efficient by offering a reduced mortgage rate.

Full list of pilot phase projects

The winning projects will operate until February 2025, implementing and testing their products with homeowners across the UK.

Commenting on the news, Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance, said: “When energy bills reached record highs, we stepped in to lessen the burden on hardworking families across the country.

“But we haven’t stopped there and these innovative projects will allow more families to save money and cut emissions.

“We are always looking to test progressive ways to make energy saving measures more accessible and affordable, allowing people to make their homes greener and warmer.”

Emma Harvey-Smith, programme director for the built environment at the Green Finance Institute, said:  “Delivering a range of innovative and affordable financing solutions will help homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient, lowering bills and reducing emissions.

“Developing and piloting new green finance mechanisms to ensure they successfully support as wide a range of customers as possible, and unlock barriers to retrofit, will enable more energy efficiency home upgrades at pace and scale.

“The GFI continues to play a central role in developing the market for financing a net zero and climate-resilient built environment across the UK and Europe, by catalysing finance markets to deliver on ambitious decarbonisation goals and driving real-economy impact.”