Renewable Energy Installer February 2015 | Page 12

News: Green Deal
The electoral mist descends
With the run-up to the general election firmly under way, Neil Schofield, head
of government and external affairs at Worcester, Bosch Group, casts his eye over
what this year - and the election result - might mean for ECO and Green Deal
B
efore their introduction, the ECO
and the Green Deal schemes
were positioned as the latest
revolutionary step for the heating
industry.
The ECO initiative, which will run until
2017, may have contributed to the sale of
a record number of boilers in 2013, but its
impact on the renewables sector has been
minimal. While it is always encouraging
to see the government investing in energy
efficiency enhancements, the number of
people benefiting from these initiatives
showed a significant drop once the chancellor
all but ended the heating element of the ECO
scheme in his 2013 autumn statement.
With hindsight, we can also see that
DECC has failed to grasp the nettle and give
installers the kind of access they need to
make the scheme a success. When it comes
to ringing the changes in terms of the way
homes are heated, the installer will always
be king, but this was a fact undoubtedly
overlooked given the amount of red tape
installers are being asked to overcome.
When it comes to ringing
the changes in terms of the
way homes are heated, the
installer will always be king
To date, the RHI really has been the only
show in town for the renewables sector, but
even this scheme has its limitations thanks
to a heavy weighting in favour of biomass.
The absence of any favourable tariffs on
offer for alternative renewable technologies
has unfortunately ruled out take-up for a
significant number of homeowners throughout
England and Wales.
12 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
The political agenda
With the facts seemingly not offering too
much encouragement to either Green Deal
or ECO at present, it is interesting to note
that each political party is taking a different
approach with regards to environmental
policy.
The Conservative party now appears
to be more interested in building roads
than reducing emissions, with support for
potentially vote-winning bypasses around
congested towns and extra lanes on
motorways replacing any prior eco-friendly
focus. It is perhaps disappointing that the self-
proclaimed ‘Greenest government ever’ has
seemingly turned its back on the environment.
Regulation seems to be the watchword
of the Liberal Democrats, with Ed Davey
announcing the party’s plans to introduce
similar legislation to that which was such
a boon to condensing boilers, along with
incentives such as council tax banding
reductions, and stamp duty rebates.
The party most committed to talking
about environmental policy is, undoubtedly,
the Labour party, which has promised a
shake-up of Green Deal funding. This will
see the current seven per cent interest rate
reduced to zero in a bid to lend the scheme
fresh impetus. Then comes a view to
targeting more closely those categorised as
‘fuel poor’ by working with local authorities
to distribute energy efficiency measures using
allocated ECO funding.
It is unclear what relevance, if any, these
high-level policies will have for the installer
and the precedent set over past 12 months
suggests that, at least in the short-to-medium
term future, it will be business as usual on an
everyday level.
What is apparent is that 2015 is set to be
an uncertain time for environmental policy. An
electoral mist has already descended, and the
industry will have to wait until after 07 May -
and perhaps longer still - before it can know
the lie of the land.
Party line: Despite clear blue water between
the environmental positions of the three main
political parties, Neil Schofield of Worcester,
Bosch fails to see much promise for installers at
May’s general election
The party most committed
to talking about
environmental policy is,
undoubtedly, the Labour
party