Energy saving home grants to be scrapped

Published on Friday 9 July 2010 16:02

A POPULAR grant scheme that offers the public up to £4,000 towards the cost of installing solar panels and other renewable energy devices in the home has been scrapped by the government to save money.

The home renewables grant will not be replaced when it is axed at the end of this month.

Almost 3,000 households have taken up grants since 2007, enticed by the chance to cut their fuel bills and help the environment. However, after spending 7.4 million, the Scottish Government has decided it can no longer afford the grants. The scheme will close on 23 July, after the last of the cash has been used up.

In a letter to the renewables industry, the Energy Saving Trust, which administers the scheme, said: "Continuing to fund grants is no longer sustainable given the increasingly tight constraints on the Scottish Government budget and therefore it is currently expected that the home renewables grant scheme will not be replaced."

The grants provided up to 30 per cent of the cost of installing a home renewable heating system, up to 4,000. Renewable energy devices that the grants could be used for include ground source heat pumps, wood fuel stoves and solar thermal water heating.

John Conway, operations director at Renfrewshire company Solar Power Scotland, said: "We had no knowledge, despite being the major provider of solar panels in the Scottish domestic market, that the scheme was to be shelved.

"It's very disappointing because it has been an important and successful method of promoting renewable energy to people across Scotland."

Irene MacPherson, of Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, installed a 6,500 solar panel on her roof six weeks ago with 2,000 from the grant scheme. She has now been able to largely stop using the expensive coal stove that previously provided her with hot water and central heating.

The 63-year-old widow said: "It would have been far too much to pay 6,500 on my own. It's a real shame it is not carrying on. People are not going to get that incentive."

Chas Booth, parliamentary officer for the Association for the Conservation of Energy, installed a solar panel on his flat in Leith with a 1,000 grant, and a 7,000 loan. He believes it is "shocking short-sightedness" that the scheme is not going to be replaced.

"The government can't just expect private individuals to put all their own money in," he said.

"Many people don't have the upfront cash."

Home energy use accounts for over a third of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions and improving efficiency is considered to be one of the cheapest and quickest ways to meet climate change targets.

Patrick Harvie, a Green MSP, said: "There are local councils south of the Border that have done more than the Scottish Government has managed."

Lewis Macdonald, Scottish Labour's energy spokesman, said: "Getting people to switch to renewables to power their homes and businesses is going to be key to reducing emissions over the next decade. To stop these grants when the demand is so great is a step in the wrong direction."

A spokesman for the Scottish Government confirmed there were no plans to replace the scheme

SNP energy minister Jim Mather added that the financial climate was "extremely tight", saying: "The uptake of small scale renewables among householders is now unprecedented and the home renewables grants funding is facing pressure. The grants scheme will stay open to new applications until the remaining cash is allocated."z