Consultation on the Green Deal initiative

The Energy Act 2011 made provisions for the development of a Green Deal and a new Energy Company Obligation (ECO) to replace the existing Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), which will both expire in 2012. The Green Deal initiative – which is to come into effect in the autumn of 2012 – will promote energy efficiency improvements in residential and commercial properties by allowing customers to pay for the work, via their energy bills, over a 20-year period. There will be no cap on the size of the loans, provided there is adherence to the “golden rule” whereby the anticipated energy cost savings are greater than the cost of the project being undertaken.

Measures that can be included for installation under The Green Deal include a range of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, water heating and microgeneration.

This consultation, which closed on 18^th January, sought views on the details of the Green Deal and ECO policies that are to be implemented in secondary legislation and under the energy licensing framework.

Current Position

The Association believes that the Green Deal represents a potentially valuable business opportunity for its members, and is maintaining a dialogue with Government and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), which will ensure that assessors and installers adhere to robust standards and competence levels.

Next Steps

B&ES responded to the Green Deal consultation stressing the need for multi-skilled Individuals who can assess a range of issues from building fabric and services to the impact of occupants on energy consumption. It also raised issues with Professional Indemnity insurance, enforcement as the key to effectiveness, the need to add lighting controls and the need for display energy certificates as a decent measure of how a building is using energy.

Following the consultation there has been considerable criticism of the Green Deal in the press, with commentators concerned about the legal limitations around warranties and insurance and the lack of government research prior to the consultation. There remains a great deal of uncertainty about how some aspects of the Green Deal will operate.

Nevertheless the Association will continue to work on shaping the accreditation scheme and are lobbying to make sure that members can achieve accreditation. BESCA has applied to UKAS to become a Green Deal accreditation body again, which would then reduce the burden on members should they wish to join the scheme.

B&ES is also participating in a scheme to engage SMEs in the process on a more equitable basis than through the Green Deal Service Providers GDSP. Due to the financial requirements for GDSPs these will be the very largest companies, such as the energy utilities. 

Contact

For more details e-mail David Frise