Green Homes Grant Extension
The UK government have announced a one-year extension to the popular Green Homes Grant Scheme. The extension comes as part of the prime minister’s ten-point plan on tackling climate change within the UK. Homeowners across England will have until the end of March 2022 to have energy efficiency upgrades to their homes completed through the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme, helping up to 600,000 households to future proof their homes against rising energy costs. The scheme funds up to two-thirds of the cost of green home improvements up to £5,000, or 100% of the cost for homeowners on low incomes, up to £10,000. One of the most attractive options is the help towards installing an Air Source Heat Pump which is listed as one of the Green Homes Grants primary measures.
The main points of the governments ten-point plan are –
Offshore wind: Producing enough offshore wind to power every home, quadrupling how much we produce to 40GW by 2030.
Hydrogen: Working with the industry aiming to generate 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for industry, transport, power and homes, and aiming to develop the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade.
Nuclear: Advancing nuclear as a clean energy source, across large scale nuclear and developing the next generation of small and advanced reactors.
Electric vehicles: Backing our world-leading car manufacturing bases including in the West Midlands, North East and North Wales to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and transforming our national infrastructure.
Public transport, cycling and walking: Making cycling and walking more attractive ways to travel and investing in zero-emission public transport of the future.
Jet Zero and greener maritime: Supporting difficult-to-decarbonise industries to become greener through research projects for zero-emission planes and ships.
Homes and public buildings: Making our homes, schools and hospitals greener, warmer and more energy-efficient, whilst creating 50,000 jobs by 2030, and a target to install 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028.
Carbon capture: Becoming a world-leader in technology to capture and store harmful emissions away from the atmosphere, with a target to remove 10MT of carbon dioxide by 2030, equivalent to all emissions of the industrial Humber today.
Nature: Protecting and restoring our natural environment, planting 30,000 hectares of trees every year, whilst creating and retaining thousands of jobs.
Innovation and finance: Developing the cutting-edge technologies needed to reach these new energy ambitions and make the City of London the global centre of green finance.
As part of the announcement, it was also stated that gas boilers in new builds will be phased out by 2025. This further reinforces the message that the time is now to embrace the future of domestic heating and to future proof your home with an Air Source Heat Pump.
