News | Energy Efficiency

http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/3193/

The Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) has reacted angrily to the Scottish Government’s announcement of the end of its home renewables grant scheme after “unprecedented demand”.

On Friday, the Scottish Government issued a statement urging householders to apply for the grants, which are available for up to 30% of the cost of renewable heating technologies like wood fuel boilers, heat pumps or solar thermal water heating, before the scheme ends.
“The uptake of small scale renewables among householders is now unprecedented and the home renewables grants funding is facing pressure,” said Energy Minister Jim Mather.
He said the scheme would remain open until all the funds have been allocated, which is likely to be at the end of the month.
According to the Scottish Government’s figures, around 2900 households have received grants worth around £7.4 million in total.
However, Chas Booth from ACE says the end of the scheme is a blow to the microgeneration industry in the region.
“Coming on top of last month’s announcement that Scotland’s energy saving home loans scheme has also ended, this leaves most Scots householders with no financial support to install micro-renewables,” he says.
The Scottish Government has set ambitious carbon saving targets for the region, which will not be met unless more help is offered to householders, says Booth.