The UK Government has recently outlined its future plans for a £6 billion heat decarbonisation pledge. The commitment, aimed at revolutionising the country’s heating infrastructure, has allocated funds to new and existing schemes and aims to drive the adoption of energy-efficient technologies.
The £6 billion in funding was announced back in 2022 as part of the support for net-zero but now it has been dedicated to key schemes and initiatives across three years, starting in 2025.
£1.5 Billion Funding Boost for Heat Pump Grant Scheme
In a move to further encourage the adoption of heat pumps, the Government has injected an additional £1.5 billion of the total £6 billion into the heat pump grant scheme known as The Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Back in October the Government announced that the grants for homeowners for air and ground source heat pumps were increasing to £7,500 and now this substantial £1.5 billion funding boost aims to make these energy-efficient systems more accessible to homeowners securing an extra 200,000 heat pump grants.
New Schemes Announced to Boost Energy Efficiency
The Government’s commitment extends into additional schemes that have been announced to boost overall energy efficiency in homes and businesses. A £400 million energy efficiency grant will be dedicated to helping homes improve their energy efficiency through changes to radiators and insulation. In addition, a £500 million local authority retrofit scheme has been introduced with the aim of supporting up to 60,000 low-income properties, including those off the gas grid, with home improvement measures such as insulation.
Another £1.25 billion has been put into the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund that can be used by councils and housing associations on insulating, retrofitting, or improving the energy efficiency of up 140,000 social houses.
The £6 billion pledge supports the immediate adoption of net zero and offers substantial funding boosts for heat pumps, energy efficiency schemes, and boiler upgrades. The extra funding reflects the Governments strategic vision for a low-carbon future and further incentivises the UK with actively fostering a transition to cleaner heating technologies.
APHC comment – There was some uncertainty back in September following the PM’s announcement around a delay to key target dates. However, in recent months with the introduction of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism and the announcements of enhanced levels of funding to further support the transition in housing there’s clear signs of the overall commitment to pressing ahead with the net zero journey.
