Almost one million energy efficiency measures were installed across 819,000 properties in the UK up to September 2014, according to the most recent figures published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The vast majority of measures (97%) have been installed under the ECO scheme, however, the Green Deal has seen a welcome boost in participants. The numbers show that almost 1,500 new Green Deal plans were registered during October, taking the number of plans in progress to 7,207 – a 25% rise from September.
Commenting on the figures, Richard Twinn, policy and public affairs officer at UK Green Building Council said: “With a record number of new Green Deals last month, we’re starting to see a break in the clouds for the government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme. But it’s not all blue skies just yet – the recent rise in plans isn’t even close to making up for the drop in energy saving measures being installed under its sister scheme ECO. We need to see continued demand in energy efficiency into next year if the Green Deal is to truly weather the storm.”
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Installations carried out under the ECO scheme stood at 23,325 in September, some way short of the year’s high of 100,000 in March. However, DECC is celebrating a reported 3000% increase in efficiency measures installed in rural homes over the last six months.
Energy companies have installed an estimated 23,400 insulation types – such as in lofts and cavity walls – in rural homes, as a result of changes to the ECO scheme announced in April this year, a dramatic increase from 834 measures at the end of March.
DECC claims that changes it made to the ECO scheme back in April have transformed the market. Parliamentary under secretary of state for energy, Amber Rudd, said: “We’ve seen a major increase in the number of rural homes that have been made warmer and cheaper to heat – 23,400 measures installed, up from 834 in April. These new estimates from energy companies are a sure sign that action from government to help people living in rural areas is working.
“I want to see energy companies continue to deliver their obligations so more rural communities can reap the benefits and stay warm this winter.”
In its latest progress report, Ofgem found that energy suppliers are now meeting 55% of their ECO targets in September.
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