REI – the leading magazine for the renewables sector since 2008
Editorial panel members
Bittersweet symphony
I
t seems that nobody’s short of a critical word or two on government
policy these days, with the past month no exception as the Green
Deal train trundles on towards its unknown destination.
What is perhaps different this time is that our elected
representatives are getting in on the act and have joined the dissenting voices by
labelling its own fl agship policy a ‘disappointing failure’.
Following hot on the heels of the questionable decision to close the Green Deal Home
Improvement Fund, and thus one of the few well-subscribed elements of the scheme,
confi dence is again collapsing rapidly, expedited by the infl uential Committee on Climate
Change’s crushing verdict.
Strenuous efforts must now be made to prevent Green Deal joining the unenviable
ranks of communism and perpetual motion as being grand in theory but rather less
effective in practice.
To provide cash up front for energy effi ciency measures was revolutionary, and
expecting the consumer to pay it back not unreasonable. But attempts to get the public
engaged were lacklustre as fi nance packages remained unattractive and marketing spend
non-existent.
For the past 18 months, conversion rates have remained stubbornly low as
increasingly healthy numbers of Green Deal assessments could not be turned into signed
plans as cheaper fi nance mechanisms existed in abundance elsewhere.
Alas the Green Deal journey has not yet hit the buffers, and it will power forward in
some new guise delivering manifest business opportunities to installers. Making energy
effi ciency sexy will always be tough, but offering a more accessible way for homeowners
to save money and improve the fabric of their homes should not be.
Andy Buchan,
CEEC, Future
Renewable Energy Andy Boroughs,
Organic Energy
Garry Broadbent,
Lifestyle Heating Cathy Debenham,
YouGen
Ryan Gill,
Evoco Energy Liz McFarlane,
Zenex Solar
Steve Andrews,
Ecoskies Phyllis Boardman,
Green Deal
Consortia
Robert Burke,
HETAS Gideon Richards,
MCS
Contents
NEWS
04 News
Viessman’s 25th anniversary
11 Analysis
SEUK preview
13 Profi le
Pressure mounts on Green Deal
OPINION
17 REI’s regular MCS column
20 Q&A Evo Energy
KNOWLEDGE
34 Company profi le
Zero Carbon Future
39 Wind
40 Solar PV
TGE, Rexel and Flexicon
47 Solar thermal
48 Anaerobic digestion
Expertise from Fisher German
51 Commercial section
58 Case studies
38 My working week
Dave Hutcheon, Dimplex
25 EE & R Awards roundup
ISSN 2049-3525
Editor: Paul Stephen
Sales director: Jonathan Hibbert
Circulation manager: Sandra Curties
Managing director: Nick Smith
Published by: Ashley & Dumville Publishing Ltd,
Caledonian House, Tatton Street,
Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6AG
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