‘As homes become offices, energy efficiency is more vital than ever’

A national home upgrade programme will be the centrepiece of a five-point plan by Energy UK for putting the sector at the heart of the economy’s post-lockdown recovery.

At a virtual meeting today (18 June), the trade body’s economics director Sam Hollister outlined the key points of its new report on energy and the economic recovery, which is due to be published next week.

At the opening session of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Renewable and Sustainability Energy’s inquiry on energy and the recovery, he said the report’s recommendations would include the launch of a national housing infrastructure upgrade programme.

The widespread adoption of homeworking during the lockdown had increased the urgency of improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock, Hollister said.

A national programme, which could draw on the £9.2 billion of funding promised for energy efficiency in last year’s Conservative Party manifesto, was the best mechanism for doing “something at scale quickly and fairly,” he said.

“We need to step up that programme to improve the energy performance of our buildings as our homes become our offices.”

As the looming recession bites, he said improved energy efficiency would also alleviate the pressure on energy bills that an increasing number of households are likely to face.

Alongside the home efficiency drive, Hollister said the report would recommend a sector deal for low-carbon heat, similar to those already developed for nuclear and offshore wind.

Other priority areas identified in the report will be accelerating the transition to low-carbon transport and unlocking further private investment in a “digital and flexible” low-carbon energy system.

He also urged the government to accelerate the growth of low-emission regional industrial clusters by holding auctions for “small scale” pathfinder hydrogen projects.

Guy Newey, strategy and performance director at the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC), urged the government to establish five net-zero pathfinder projects in towns and cities.

He also defended the ESC’s continued support for nuclear power outlined in a report published earlier today.

“With the current information about how we need to balance the system, ruling out nuclear as an option is premature.

“That said the nuclear industry and government has an almost existential moment over the next ten years: if it can’t take cost reductions as seriously as the renewable sector has done, it will fade away.

“We are very clear that any new nuclear programme needs to be accompanied by serious cost reduction programme.”

But Green MP Caroline Lucas responded that the idea of nuclear delivering lower costs is the “biggest triumph of hope over experience”, citing what she described as the industry’s track record of failing to deliver on time and on budget.

“This is not sensible and doesn’t give a clear steer to investors in other technologies. If we said no new nuclear that would be a very clear signal to investors in green technology.”