Industry still waiting for Green Deal clarity

The industry is calling on the government to avert ‘disaster’ over the Green Deal as it seizes what it sees as a last chance to influence the policy.

Firms are still awaiting clarity over issues such as accreditation, financing and market take-up.

The Green Deal consultation document, expected this week, is thought unlikely to include financial incentives on VAT reductions or stamp duty.

The need for clarity on the scheme was among the priorities raised with construction minister Mark Prisk (pictured) at the first meeting of the government’s Green Construction Board.

 Speaking to H&V News, Mr Prisk said: “One of the first remarks at the meeting was on the Green Deal; that people within industry want to know how it will work and the details.

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Essex-based Climate Energy Solutions had an extra pair of hands to help out yesterday when the Prime Minister stopped by to talk to the team about cavity-wall insulation.

 Ahead of yesterday’s Energy Summit, David Cameron visited a Climate Energy Solutions team working in London to talk about insulation, the installation process and what difference is makes to properties.

For more information about Climate Energy or Green Deal updates please see: www.climateenergy.org.uk

Green Deal News from Department of Energy and Climate Change..

On the 4th of October we achieved an important milestone for the Green Deal when the Energy Bill cleared the House of Lords without any further amendments or additional votes.

The next stage is for the Bill to receive Royal Assent, which we expect shortly.


As you are aware the Bill contains powers that will allow householders to pay for energy efficiency improvements to their homes from the savings they make by using less gas and electricity.

Preparations continue for the launch of the Green Deal consultation at the end of October.
As key stakeholders your support fine tuning the details of policy and secondary legislation has been crucial and I extend my thanks to you. It's important that we gain the maximum input into our consultation, and so we are planning an extensive engagement programme to discuss the content with you and
ensure you can feed in your views as soon as possible.

There is more progress to report and I will be writing to you again later this month with a fuller update."Greg Barker, DECC Minister


Source: bre.co.uk




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BSI Releases Green Deal Standard For Industry Review

The British Standards Institution (BSI), working with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), has released the draft Green Deal Standard for the installation of energy efficiency measures to comply with the UK Government's Green Deal initiative.
BSI is asking industry to get involved and share their feedback before the standard is finalised.

The new specification, known as PAS 2030, sets out requirements that installers will follow to ensure the installation of new energy efficiency measures is completed properly. The PAS addresses issues such as installation controls, equipment, inspections, handover and corrective action procedures.

The standard was developed by an expert working group bringing together the views of government, trade associations from the construction, building, energy and manufacturing sectors, business and consumers.

 As part of the British Government's Green Deal initiative, all installers will have to be certified to PAS 2030.  Therefore, this is the industry's opportunity to get involved in the development of the specification, ensuring that it reflects their needs and provides best practice guidance for all installers. 

Ann Francke, Managing Director for Global Customer & Product Strategy at BSI, says, "The Green Deal is vital in helping the UK meet its climate change commitments. By producing a robust framework for monitoring the delivery aspects of the Government's Green Deal initiative, BSI can help ensure the equipment, installations and operation is done correctly.


This is vital to underpinning the fundamental promise behind the Green Deal which we believe is win-win for all installers, green deal providers and their customers.  This standard developed by BSI will play a key role in supporting the Green Deal by protecting UK homes and the people who live in them."

"The working group has delivered an outstanding draft standard and now it is the opportunity for industry to get involved with addressing the issue of installing energy efficiency measures."

The period for industry feedback on PAS 2030 will end on Monday October 24th 2011 and it is hoped that a broad selection of industry stakeholders will read and comment on the draft. The comments will be reviewed by a representative steering group in November 2011 and it is expected the full PAS will be published by the end of January 2012. Comments can be registered online by clicking here.

Source: oilfiredup.com

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Energy efficiency and renewable energy to get large share of EUR 346bn ERDF budget

Green Energy efficiency and renewable energy are set to be one of the 11 investment priorities under a new EUR 346 billion European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) budget for 2014-2020 being discussed in Brussels this week.

They constitute two areas that have been neglected during the current 2007-2013 budget period.

The European Commission's ERDF budget proposals, which were presented by the European Commission last Thursday, foresee a total budget of EUR 376 billion (one percent of Europe Gross National Income) for economic, social and territorial cohesion for the period 2014-2020.

The ERDF is a vital part of funding many infrastructure projects and aims to correct imbalances between regions. It supports R&D and innovation in climate change and environment, business support to SMEs, energy and transport infrastructures and sustainable urban development, amongst other things.

Amongst the 11 investment priorities defined, one aims to support the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors, including energy efficiency in public infrastructures, and the housing sector.

From 2014, the so-called 'transition regions' of Europe (in the UK this includes Merseyside and South Yorkshire) and the more developed regions will be required to focus the largest part of their allocation (except for the European Social Fund) on energy efficiency and renewable energy, competitiveness of SMEs, and innovation, with 20% of resources to be focused on energy efficiency and renewables.

Source: eaem.co.uk

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Green Deal Finance Company “open to all”

The Green Deal Finance Company, the new not-for-profit venture promising to unlock billions of pounds of investment to bankroll the Green Deal, will be "open to all" businesses that want to join it.
Any accredited Green Deal provider, whatever their size, will be able to become a member of the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC) and offer cheap loans to customers looking to make improvements to their homes and businesses under the Government’s energy efficiency buildings programme.

"Membership is open to all and anyone who wants to become a member can," Paul Davies, a senior partner at PwC, which is coordinating the GDFC, told GreenWise. "Any accredited Green Deal provider will be able to join. SMEs that are wondering, 'should I get into this market or not; I don’t have a balance sheet so I can’t’ – that barrier has just been lifted."

Big players
The 16 founding members of the GDFC are mainly blue-chip companies and include names such as British Gas, Kingfisher, E.ON, EDF Energy, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and Goldman Sachs. However, Davies said the consortium wanted to operate a "very open book. Their stated objective is to be a finance enabler of the market, not a competitive barrier".

Davies claimed the GDFC would also help new entrants to the market. "We are an enabler and if you’ve got a high-end solution or marvellous new technological solution or a better kit, you’ll be better able to compete on price because underlying it is cheap finance to make it happen," he said.

Cheap loans
The GDFC is being set up to overcome the financing challenge of the Green Deal, the Government’s flagship measure to cut energy bills and carbon emissions from Britain’s homes and businesses. The Green Deal will enable homeowners and businesses to access loans for loft and cavity wall insulation, lagging and other energy efficiency measures. The Government says it will see billions of pounds lent every year and create 250,000 jobs between now and 2020. However, a rule of the scheme is that the loan repayments must never exceed the savings on the energy bills and companies and banks have been concerned they would not be able to offer cheap enough loans to make the scheme viable.

Davies said the GDFC gets around this problem because it will be big enough to access the capital markets and credit-worthy enough to borrow money at low interest rates, which it can then pass onto the borrower. "We need billions [of pounds of investment] in a year and that is beyond the capacity of even the biggest companies," he said. "[The GDFC] can quickly and regularly access the bond market and get high 'investment grade’ money". The company’s not for profit status also means it can reduce its capital costs, said Davies.

The Government is launching the Green Deal in autumn 2012 and Davies said the GDFC would be open for business in time for the launch.

Source: Greenwisebusiness.co.uk



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Green Deal Finance Company formed..

An industry-led consortium investigating how to finance the best value Green Deal option for consumers has been created.

The consortium has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop the business plan for a not-for-profit organisation, The Green Deal Finance Company (TGDFC), to finance the best value Green Deal option for consumers.

The MOU signatories include British Gas, Carillion, Clifford Chance, E.ON, EDF Energy, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Insta Group, Kingfisher, Linklaters, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, Mark Group, npower, PwC, RBC Capital Markets and SSE.





The consortium is already working closely with DECC, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and local authorities, with a view to maximising its assistance to the Green Deal market.

Over the next few months many more new associate members are expected to join the consortium, including suppliers, installers, providers, local authorities, and industry and consumer representative bodies.

The GDFC will be a national aggregator that can provide finance to all Green Deal Providers on an equal and open basis. By operating at a national level, it will minimise the operating and administration costs of Green Deal work and will quickly be able to access the cheapest sources of finance in the market at the highest possible credit rating.

Source: hvnplus.co.uk

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