| UK Budget Promises |
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UK budget promises £50 million for microgeneration technologies LONDON, England, March 29, 2006 (Refocus Weekly) The British government will provide an initial £50 million to support microgeneration technologies to be installed on 25,000 buildings. “Our supply of energy should be stable, secure and competitive, and environmentally sustainable,” chancellor Gordon Brown says in the budget. The allocation of £50 million will “make it possible for homes and businesses to generate their own renewable energy. The purpose of this £50 million fund is to show how we can make these technologies from wind turbines to solar heating, affordable to schools, housing associations, businesses including local authority tenants - initially 25,000 buildings.” The £50 million budget for micro-renewables is “fantastic news,” adds Gaynor Hartnell of REA. “We were hoping that this would be the year when micro-renewables really takes off, what with the publication of the micro-generation strategy, and the minister's obvious enthusiasm for the sector.”“An additional £50 million for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme is a welcome sign that the government has been listening to us about the massive potential in this sector," he adds. “Our members had been getting increasingly anxious about the transition into the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, due to start next month. This announcement will not just provide relief, it will be celebrated.” “This new money nearly trebles the amount of government support available for capital grants under the DTI's new Low Carbon Buildings Programme,” says Seb Berry. “It is a very significant boost to the sector at a time when our members are reporting increasing consumer interest in domestic renewable energy systems.” “This is a good budget for clean energy,” says trade secretary Alan Johnson. “The new National Institute for Energy Technologies will draw together public and private sector funds to make the UK a leader in research into low carbon solutions. In addition, a £50 million boost for microgeneration and £5 million to pilot smart metering will help bring about the long-term shift that is needed in our relationship with the energy we use in our homes and workplaces.” |