New proposals announced by the UK coalition government on 25th July will enable local authorities to bid for £20 million of capital funding in order to help households benefit from the Green Deal energy efficiency scheme which has only seen four confirmed Green Deal plans delivered so far.
Under the proposals, local authorities will be encouraged to identify areas that could potentially benefit most from the scheme. They will then despatch representatives to call on households street-by-street in order to encourage people to sign up to the scheme.
“If we are going to deliver the Green Deal at real scale then we need a 'street-by-street' vision and a 'street-by-street' plan!” said Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker. “However, local authorities really know their areas best. They know which streets and properties could most benefit from a Green Deal to improve their energy efficiency, and what local people need to provide them with a greater choice. The Coalition is committed to helping hard pressed consumers and this £20 million funding will help more families benefit from the Green Deal, making homes warmer and more efficient, and protecting consumers against rising energy bills.”
New ‘Green Deal Communities’, in partnership with community organisations and businesses, will help to support local authorities in attempting to encourage people to sign up. Local authorities will be able to submit bids for funding up until December 31st 2013 or until funds are exhausted. The funding comes on top of £23 million already provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) while in the north of England a regional £200 million energy efficiency scheme for homes in the North East has been announced by Newcastle City Council. The ‘Warm Up North’ initiative could potentially benefit up to 50,000 households and businesses in the area.
Alongside the new proposals the government has confirmed the establishment of a Green Deal Provider Forum designed to help businesses examine ways in which the scheme can be enhanced and supported. The forum will be chaired by the Group CEO of Kingfisher, Ian Cheshire, and will include senior representatives from Green Deal providers and the wider retrofitting industry.
The Green Deal has, nevertheless, been widely criticised since its launch and some voices on forums such as LinkedIn have suggested that this latest venture by the government smacks of desperation over a scheme that is potentially edging towards failure.
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