The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced an £80 million investment to help reduce carbon emissions from industry and homes.
Energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng said the investment would be used for a range of projects, including “pioneering” heat networks and a programme to reduce the cost of retrofitting homes with energy efficiency technologies.
“We want to invest now to ensure we continue to propel the UK towards a stronger, greener future,” said Kwarteng as he made the announcement yesterday.
“This new £80 million investment will help to reduce emissions across our economy, which will save people money on energy bills and protect jobs in heavy industry.”
Of the total investment, £30 million will be put to the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), to help industries like manufacturing reduce their carbon emissions.
Heat networks will receive £25 million, including funding for a project in Gateshead that is looking to use geothermal water sitting in disused mines to heat 1,250 homes. Should the project prove successful it could be scaled to provide power to around 6 million homes around Britain, thanks to the thousands of old mine shafts around the country.
Of the remaining £24 million, the government has said £7.7 million will be used to install green technology and insulation in over 300 council houses. Three projects have been chosen to receive £14.6 million for heat pump trials, including E.On and OVO Energy. And £1.8 million will support innovative green home finance products.
The investment will form part of wider government action to increase decarbonisation in an effort to reach net zero by 2050. In particular, the lack of progression in decarbonising heat is becoming increasingly apparent, with the Committee on Climate Change warning that policy is lagging in this area in its 2020 Progress Report last week.