The government has committed £3.4bn to its Warm Homes Plan and unveiled the first UK public support for green hydrogen projects in its first Budget.
In the Budget, unveiled on 30 October, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the £3.4bn for the Warm Homes Plan has been committed over the next three years to improve energy efficiency and decarbonise heating systems
More than half the cash (£1.8bn) has been earmarked to support fuel-poverty schemes, which the Budget states will help more than 225,000 households reduce their energy bills.
The government has also announced that funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides grants of up to £7,500 to subsidise heat pump installations, has been increased next year because of rising demand.
This follows an earlier announcement of an extra £50m to ward off the risk of the scheme running out of cash before the end of the current financial year in April.
The Chancellor also announced boosts worth for the school rebuilding and affordable homes programme worth £550m and £500m respectively.
The National Energy System Operator, which operates the UK gas and electricity grids, says the government’s 2030 clean-power goal will ‘push the limits of what is feasibly deliverable’, but can be achieved without increasing costs for consumers or compromising security of supply.
