http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5140/?cid=3

The UK government is ramping up the rollout of its key energy efficiency policies with the appointment of a new expert chair of its deployment task force and a programme of Green Deal business briefings.

Earlier this year, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) established the Energy Efficiency Deployment Office (EEDO) to put energy efficiency at the heart of the government's approach to tackling climate change.

Peter Boyd, who has spent over ten years with the Virgin Group and is currently COO of the Carbon War Room - Richard Branson's independent non-profit organisation to reduce carbon emissions - will serve as expert chair of the EEDO for two years.

He will provide guidance to government ministers, the DECC management board and officials working on the government's energy efficiency schemes.

"Peter will bring valuable experience in rolling out major programmes from his time with the Virgin Group to his current role at Carbon War Room, and I am very confident that he will make a major contribution to the energy efficiency agenda," commented Energy Secretary Ed Davey.

Meanwhile, DECC has also launched a series of breakfast briefings up and down the country to give businesses more information about the opportunities offered by the Green Deal.

The Green Deal, which will begin this autumn, will enable householders to install energy efficiency measures at no up-front cost. Instead, the measures will be paid for out of the savings made on energy bills.

Simultaneously, the new Energy Company Obligation (ECO) will require energy suppliers to provide subsidies for the most vulnerable to install energy saving technologies.

The 11 briefings running during June and July, in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Buildings (EEPB), will tell supply chain businesses what the government's flagship Green Deal efficiency scheme will mean for them, how they can take part and discuss ideas.