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Government axes support for Green Deal!

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The Government has announced that it will offer no further financial support to the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC), citing lack of interest and concerns over industry standards as reasons for the decision.

The Government’s withdrawal of funds will have no impact on existing Green Deal Finance Plans or existing Green Deal Home Improvement Fund applications and vouchers.

The ‘Green Deal’ rolled out in 2013 as an initiative designed to help business and home owners employ more green technologies in and on their properties. Applicants were granted loans that would be paid back through energy bills over a period of time. The scheme also offered cash-backs and incentives on things such as double-glazing, insulation and boilers.

For both home owners and businesses, the building would effectively be responsible for the costs of all the improvements and these costs would be repaid through the energy bill related to the property. Upon the sale of the property in question, the new owner would take over the energy bills pertaining to the previous owner’s Green Deal loan.

There were no upfront costs for the applicant to incur at the outset. The only cost would have been the assessment, which might be waived or enveloped by the provider depending on the deal struck between the provider and the business (or home owner) applying.

The golden rule of the Green Deal was that the expected financial savings must be equal to or greater than the costs attached to the energy bill. And yet the plug failed to engage.
According to the Heating & Hotwater Industry Council, (HHIC), the news came as no surprise;
“This policy failed to engage with both installers and consumers, and delivered little in terms of energy efficiency. Its demise therefore is expected and understandable.”
Interestingly, the Government has not come up with a replacement scheme to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has, however, expressed interest in working with the building industry and consumer groups to agree a new “value-for-money approach.”

If you missed out on the Green Deal and are thanking your lucky stars but inadvertently lamenting the loss of the opportunity to eco-up your business and save money in the long term, perhaps this was just a learning curve and the best policy is yet to come. Here’s hoping.

Source: bbc.co.uk – “Green Deal funding to end, government announces” and Hvnplus.co.uk – “Government ends Green Deal Finance Company funding”.

If you’d like further information, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

How your business can benefit from the Green Deal

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The government’s newly imposed Green Deal has been making a splash in recent headlines. The idea behind the initiative is to make energy-saving improvements to your business (or home) without having to pay all the costs up front – with the ultimate goal of reducing carbon emissions on a nationwide scale.

Here’s the question: how can you, as the owner of a commercial property, benefit from the Green Deal?

The scheme aims to help you save money and improve your environmental performance by fronting the costs of building improvements that will enhance the energy-saving features of your property. Businesses are being encouraged to use the Green Deal as a way to invest in Green Technologies to help them save money in the longer term – it’s an initiative particularly relevant to businesses that are looking to make large scale improvements, as there is no ‘upper cap’ in what companies can apply for through the Green Deal.

So, in a nutshell: loan the money (rather than save for years and rack up energy costs while you do it), make energy-saving improvements to your property, pay the money back (with possible cashback incentive) but save in the long run.

Some of the energy efficiency improvements that qualify for Green Deal finance are:

  • Insulation – e.g. loft or cavity wall insulation
  • Heating
  • Draught-proofing
  • Double glazing
  • Renewable energy technologies – e.g. solar panels or wind turbines

Here’s how to start the process:

  • Get an assessment of your property to see what improvements can be made and how much you could save on your energy bills.
  • Use the assessment to apply for the Cashback scheme if your business qualifies.
  • Choose a Green Deal provider to carry out the work. You discuss with them what work you want done and whether the Green Deal is right for your commercial venture.
  • If you go ahead with the improvements you must sign your Green Deal Plan – this is a contract between you and the provider stating what work will be done and how much it will cost. The provider will then arrange for a Green Deal installer to do the work.
  • Once the work is done, you’ll pay off the costs will be repaid through the energy bill related to the property.

And an fyi: the Green Deal operates according to a golden rule, which says that “The expected financial savings must be equal to or greater than the costs attached to the energy bill.” There is other fine print, which can be read up on greendealinitiative.co.uk.

To find out if the Green Deal is something that might be beneficial to your business in terms of cutting energy costs, download (and read) “Which Energy Improvements Qualify For Green Deal Finance?”, compiled by the Department of Energy & Climate Change.

For more information, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc