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A number of industry bodies have been commenting on the statement by the Prime Minister regarding Net Zero Policy:
George Webb, CEO of Liquid Gas UK (pictured above) said:
“Moving the phase out date to 2035 brings welcome parity between off-grid and on-grid households. The 2026 off-grid fossil fuel boiler ban would have seen many in our rural communities having to spend tens of thousands of pounds on electric heating systems for hard-to-treat homes where they would have been unsuitable.
“The new pragmatic approach now taken by Government is welcome. We look forward to working with Government on adopting a mixed-technology approach to off-grid heating. The LPG industry has a credible pathway to be 100% renewable by 2040, enabling consumers to use renewable liquid gases in their current heating systems, and negate the need for a costly retrofit and installation for those hard-to-treat properties, whilst still seeing significant carbon reductions of up to 90%, compared to fossil LPG.
“For those of off-grid consumers who won’t have to or can’t install a heat pump, they can still make a significant contribution to Net Zero by switching to renewable liquid gases. We look forward to working with Government on the development and deployment of renewable liquid gases at scale.”
Stewart Clements, Director of the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), said:
“Following yesterday’s speech made by the Prime Minister, we welcome the time afforded to make a more thought out and successful switch to low carbon heating. This will play a pivotal role in our journey in achieving net zero and decarbonising homes across the country.
“The 50% increase in financial support provided through the enhanced Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Great British Insulation Scheme will undoubtedly incentivise the switch to heat pumps for more homeowners. Such a positive initiative, however, requires a significantly larger number of installers than previously estimated, which the government must work with industry to address.
“Data gathered by the HHIC suggests that to meet the Government’s ambitious heat pump installation target of 600,000, we require 100,000 installers more than the Government’s prediction of 50,000 – a figure almost equivalent to the entire Gas Safe Register. This shows the need for further support in addressing the current skills gap to meet the expected rise in demand for low carbon heating.”
Trevor Harvey, CEO of Stelrad, said:
“Decarbonisation, improving energy efficiency and supporting consumers and households are all intertwined with one another and I actually think yesterday’s measures announced by the Government went a large way to acknowledging that.
“By removing legislative deadlines while simultaneously improving the incentive for home owners to install heat pumps or biomass boilers to £7,500, the Government is getting rid of an arbitrary cliff edge alongside helping to make lower carbon systems more financially attractive at a time when families are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
“However, we continue to urge the Government to take a more joined up approach to the wider issue – heating UK homes produces around 17% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions so it is imperative that we have a plan that incentivises homeowners to take as many practical measures as possible, including things such as insulating their homes more effectively and installing more modern and efficient radiators.”
