Tag: Energy Security and Net Zero Department

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 8 June 2023.

£40 billion has been paid out to protect UK families and businesses from energy costs over the colder months.

The government spent nearly £40 billion protecting households and businesses from spiralling energy bills over the colder months, new figures today show.

Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine led to unprecedented turmoil in global energy markets and made a huge impact on the energy bills of households around the world. In the UK, without government intervention households would have seen bills peak at almost £4,300 per year.

In response the government covered around half a typical household bill over the winter – and today, the sheer scale of that financial support has been revealed for the first time. £39.3 billion was spent between October 2022 and March 2023, the most ever provided to subsidise household bills in UK history. This was in part funded through taxing energy producers’ excess profits – with the government’s windfall tax on producers expected to raise almost £26 billion by March 2028.

And with moves to shore up the country’s energy security, wholesale costs have now come down two thirds from their peak in the first quarter of the year. The UK has seen a full year without using Russian gas, while accelerating the move towards renewables and alternative sources of supply such as liquefied natural gas imports.

Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said:

Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and his reckless attempts to hold the West to ransom sent energy prices spiralling around the world.

We acted swiftly and decisively to protect families and businesses from the full impact of that shock – covering around half a typical energy bill over winter. This helped safeguard jobs and livelihoods, and enabled many families to heat their homes.

And we will not stop leading the world in standing up to Putin, helping countries around the world to move away from Russian fossil fuels – just as we have done having not used any Russian gas for the past 12 months.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said:

Putin’s weaponisation of global gas prices meant our energy bills soared, which is why we stepped in with immediate relief and cut the typical household energy bill by around half last winter, driving down inflation and relieving pressure on families.

Improvements in the wholesale market mean energy regulator, Ofgem, has been able to reduce their price cap from £3,280 now to £2,074 in July. As a result, the average household bill is expected to fall £426 lower than current charges under the Energy Price Guarantee, which will also help further lower inflation overall. The government is committed to halving inflation by the end of the year.

Today’s figures demonstrate the historic scale and nature of the schemes put in place to support households. The figures involved mean on average around £2,500 was shelled out every second since October to keep energy costs down, as Ofgem’s cap rose to almost £4,300 at the peak of the energy crisis – saving the average home roughly £1,500 by June.

The figures show that from October up to the end of March, almost £21 billion went towards the Energy Price Guarantee. An expected £12 billion has been paid out under the Energy Bills Support Scheme, which offered homes £400 payments towards their bills over winter.

Meanwhile, businesses and other organisations benefitted from a £5.5 billion boost under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the government’s primary non-domestic support scheme over the winter. A further £933 million was spent on other government energy support schemes, including alternative schemes providing support for households and businesses off-grid and those using alternative fuels.

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 31 May 2023.

Households on prepayment meters told to claim Energy Bills Support vouchers by 30 June, in final push to help those yet to benefit from £400 off their bills.

Electricity suppliers, charities and consumer groups are today joining forces with government for Claim Your Energy Voucher Day – a call to arms to make sure households with traditional prepayment meters avoid missing out on £400 worth of help with their bills.

With £130 million of government support left to claim, well recognised names backing the day include Which?, National Energy Action and Fuel Bank Foundation, as the sector comes together in a final push to get remaining households to use their energy bill vouchers worth up to £400.

Recent figures show the number of vouchers cashed in has reached an all-time high, with over 83% of vouchers now used. However, with a month left of the scheme, the government is renewing its efforts to see as many vouchers redeemed as possible.

Over the last week government adverts have been landing in hundreds of newspapers, bus stops, Post Offices, train station billboards and elsewhere across the country to let those on traditional prepayment meters know how to claim the support.

Prepayment meter users, who are often in low-income households, have so far claimed nearly £650 million under the government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme. This means vital help is getting out to those that need it most, which direct debit customers received automatically over the winter – bringing the total delivered through the scheme to £11.5 billion.

Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability Amanda Solloway said:

We’ve made huge strides in getting nearly £650 million from our Energy Bills Support Scheme out to prepayment meter customers, often in the homes that need it most.

Today we are redoubling our efforts to reach anyone who still hasn’t claimed this help, and it’s fantastic to see so many join our final push to spread the word.

Tell friends and family or anyone on a traditional prepayment meter to use their vouchers for up to £400 off bills before 30 June – there is still £130 million out there to claim.

Ministers are leading a rallying call for customers to head to a Post Office or PayPoint with their Energy Bills Support vouchers and ID before 30 June, so everyone can get the help available.

Charities and consumer groups have also voiced their support to help spread the word, as part of Claim Your Energy Voucher Day:

Emily Seymour, Which? Energy Editor, said:

It’s positive that over 80% of Energy Bills Support Scheme vouchers for traditional prepayment meter customers – who are often on lower incomes – have now been redeemed.

However, there are still lots of households that will be missing out on much-needed financial support. We’d strongly encourage anyone who hasn’t yet redeemed their vouchers to do so before 30 June, so they don’t miss out on extra help unnecessarily.

It’s also important to remember that any lost, missing or expired vouchers can be reissued, as long as they are redeemed by 30 June 2023. If you are on a traditional prepayment meter and haven’t received your vouchers, are unsure of how to redeem them, or need a voucher to be reissued, you should get in touch with your supplier for more information.

Adam Scorer, chief executive, National Energy Action (NEA), says:

As energy bills have spiralled, National Energy Action knows how crucial the government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme has been. The £400, paid in 6 instalments of £66 or £67 has helped many people this winter.

But prepayment customers – often some of the most vulnerable – were paid in vouchers and millions remains unclaimed. Some customers didn’t receive them, others struggled to redeem them.

We urge anyone who hasn’t yet claimed their vouchers to do so before the 30 June deadline and if you have friends and family that may not have used their vouchers, spread the word. It may be the support that keeps their lights on, their oven cooking, their hot showers running, through the summer. It’s vital money at a time when it’s never been needed more.

Matthew Cole, head of Fuel Bank Foundation, the national charity that provides emergency fuel vouchers to PPM customers, said:

We’re really concerned that hundreds of thousands of people with traditional prepayment meters are going to miss out on this vital financial support. There is a lot of misinformation circulating on who is eligible to claim the EBSS vouchers and how to redeem them, which is why campaigns such as this are really important.

As part of our own campaigning on this issue, we found that other reasons why vouchers haven’t been redeemed included not receiving them, due to incorrect details or the person having moved house and their records haven’t been updated, or they lost or deleted the voucher.

However, whatever the reason, we want to reassure people that if they haven’t claimed their EBSS voucher, there is still time to do so.

Today marks a final push in the government’s multi-billion-pound intervention, that protected families and homes over the winter, by covering nearly half a typical household’s energy bill. It comes after news last week that energy costs will fall by £430 per year on average from July, under the Energy Price Cap – marking a major milestone in the government’s efforts to halve inflation.

Latest figures, published earlier this month, show that for the sixth month in a row London had the lowest redemption rate, with more than 650,000 vouchers still unused at the end of March. Around 25% of vouchers in both Scotland and the South East of England are also yet to be claimed.

In a further drive to boost numbers, posters and reminders are popping up throughout the country, with details of what people need to do to claim up to 6 vouchers, each worth between £66 and £67, and get their energy bill discounts before the 30 June deadline.

Customers are urged to contact their electricity supplier as soon as possible over the next few weeks, if they have any issues with their vouchers.

Households using prepayment meters who use alternative fuels such as LPG, heating oil or biomass as the main way they heat their homes also have until 30 June to use their vouchers worth up to £200 in energy bills support. Customers will have received these vouchers in the post from their supplier and should contact them if they have any questions.

Today’s message to customers comes after months of campaigning from the government, consumer groups and energy suppliers to help prepayment meter households trade in their energy bills support vouchers, with some going door-to-door to spread the word. Londoners benefited from government pop-up events, in partnership with the Post Office and Citizen’s Advice – while adverts also ran across community radios, social media, national magazines and billboard vans roaming towns and cities across the country.

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 26 May 2023.

New Solar Taskforce meets to explore how to drive more rooftop solar installation.

Schools, warehouses and car parks could be at the forefront of a revolution in affordable solar power, under plans discussed at the first meeting of the government’s new Solar Taskforce.

The government has a clear target to increase solar capacity by nearly fivefold to 70GW by 2035 as part of wider plans to power up Britain with cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy sources.

Even when this is met, the UK would be using only a very small proportion of its land mass for solar panels.

Already over a million UK homes have solar panels fitted to their roofs, providing reliable energy for homes across the UK while significantly reducing consumer bills and creating thousands of high skilled jobs across the country as part of growing our economy.  However, the Taskforce, led by Energy Minister Graham Stuart and Solar Energy UK chief executive Chris Hewett highlighted the untapped potential of commercial buildings, schools, warehouses and car parks, as well as the possibility of floating solar.

The government pledged to establish a Taskforce to drive the further growth of solar power as part of Powering Up Britain, accepting the recommendation made by Chris Skidmore in his Independent Review of Net Zero identifying how the UK could meet its net zero commitments in an affordable and efficient manner.

Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero Graham Stuart said:

Households across the UK are already doing their bit to provide cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy sources with the solar panels on their roofs – but with acres of rooftop space on car parks and supermarkets in every community, we can be doing even more.

This new dedicated Solar Taskforce will have a laser-like focus on cutting the costs and breaking down the barriers to harnessing the power of the sun in every way we can, all while using a small fraction of this country’s land.

Doing so will make a significant contribution to boosting our energy security, cutting people’s bills and providing long-term jobs.

Chris Hewett, chief executive of Solar Energy UK and co-chair of the Taskforce, said:

Installing rooftop solar power, whether at residential or commercial scale, is one of the best investments available, offering dramatic savings on energy bills and the opportunity to be paid for sending excess power to the grid. The benefits can also be greatly enhanced by adding a battery storage system.

Solar is the most popular form of power generation amongst the British public and consumer demand has never been higher, though the rate of rooftop installation must double to help hit 70GW by 2035. The number of solar farms will also have to increase significantly. I am delighted we now have industry leaders working directly with the government to resolve the stumbling blocks and maximise the benefits that solar energy offers to the nation.

Part of the discussion at its first meeting was how to drive more rooftop installation, such as enabling cost reductions for households and businesses looking to install solar panels, so that even more can reap the benefits of solar power such as reducing their bills.

This would come on top of solar panels on the ground – with the Taskforce united that the solar and farming sectors can support each other in meeting energy security goals and maintaining our country’s food security.

The Taskforce also discussed plans to:

• publish a solar roadmap in 2024 to drive forward the actions needed to deliver the UK’s ambition to increase solar capacity by nearly fivefold by 2035
• upskill and expand the solar workforce to meet increasing levels of demand, while creating well-paid long-term employment opportunities for Britain
• identify opportunities to secure resilient supply chains and innovation within the global market, helping to generate opportunities for UK businesses to export their expertise around the world

The Taskforce will be supporting the UK’s solar industry at a time when it is going from strength to strength:

• over 99% of the UK’s solar capacity – both on the ground and on rooftops – has been installed since May 2010 – equivalent to powering nearly 4 million homes
• in 2020, the solar industry supported 11,500 jobs across the country – with that figure now expected to be even higher
• in March this year, over 19,000 smaller-scale rooftop installations were made, at a rate of more than 500 a day.  If this continues, there will be 230,000 installations in 2023 – beating the current record set in 2011

Ben Fawcett, Head of Solar at EDF Renewables UK and member of the Solar Taskforce, said:

If we are to achieve our net zero ambitions, we need to drive forward the deployment of all types of solar, from rooftops to small and large utility-scale solar farms. By bringing the government and industry together, the Solar Taskforce is a great step in the right direction as we work hard to unlock the potential of solar in the UK.

Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive, Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK’s energy network operators, said:

I’m looking forward to working with Minister Stuart and his department, as well as partners across the industry on tackling the challenges we face on the road to net zero. We know accelerating and improving grid connections is one such challenge and linking the work of the taskforce up with our industry action plan is going to be crucial.

Chief Executive of renewable energy standards body MCS Ian Rippin said:

The growth we’ve seen highlights the appetite for solar PV and does give some insight into the growing reliance on home-grown energy in the UK.  More people are turning to renewable solutions to generate their own power at home and it’s great to see increasing levels of confidence in solar.

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 19 May 2023.

£4.1 million awarded to green finance projects to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient.

Homeowners who make their properties more energy efficient could see their mortgage rate cut under a new government-backed pilot.

Perenna Bank will receive more than £193,000 in government funding to help develop their long-term, fixed-rate mortgage that will incentivise customers to make their homes more energy efficient by offering to reduce their mortgage rate.

Another trial will see buy-to-let landlords add the cost of making properties more energy efficient onto their mortgage – enabling them to borrow the money for the improvements and include it in their monthly repayments.

Ashman Bank Limited will be awarded £200,000 to design and develop this, which will assess a property’s energy efficiency, provide options on how it can be improved and incorporate the cost of carrying out the work on to the duration of the mortgage.

The projects are among 26 green finance products being developed and tested, backed by £4.1 million of government funding.

They are aimed at encouraging and helping homeowners make their properties more energy efficient, with measures such as loft insulation and double glazing. This in turn will help them save more than £460 a year on their energy bills – one of many ways the government is helping ease the cost of living for families across the country.

Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said:

The government has put in place long-term commitments to ensure homes across the country have greater energy efficiency to reduce bills, drive down energy use and lower emissions.

We are supporting these organisations to develop fresh and innovative ways of helping more people get better access to energy efficiency measures, such as loft insulation, double glazing and heat pumps.

Other projects successful in bidding for funding include Aviva Equity Release UK Limited, who will receive £87,612 to design a service that allows homeowners to access equity in their property through a specialist lifetime mortgage, freeing up cash to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

Clydesdale Bank PLC, trading as Virgin Money, will receive £171,000 for a product that will offer bespoke energy efficiency products for customers’ properties, after carrying out a survey to outline the improvements needed.

Scott Brown, Head of Equity Release Pricing at Aviva, another winning project, said:

Aviva is delighted to have secured funding from the government to explore building a green mortgage solution for later life lending.

Aviva and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will co-fund our customer research to explore the development, which will aim to enable later life households to make home energy efficiency improvements, making their homes more comfortable to live in, reducing energy bills and helping drive a reduction in the carbon footprint of the UK’s housing stock.

Given the value in the research being produced, Aviva commit to sharing the output when finalised with the wider industry to support industry level change.

Craig Calder, head of secured lending at Virgin Money, one of the winning projects, said:

To be part of the innovative Green Home Finance Accelerator project is important for Virgin Money as we look to reinforce our aspiration to halve our financed emissions by 2030 and deliver net zero by 2050.

Working with industry experts Sero and Rightmove is an opportunity to research, test and learn what consumers want before we take a proposition to market – enabling us to provide a great product for customers while at the same time making a positive impact on the environment.

Following a 6-month Discovery Phase period, all 26 Green Home Finance Accelerator projects will be able to apply for larger grant awards, between £200,000 and £2 million to enable them to pilot their green finance products and services.

Investments announced today form part of the £20 million Green Home Finance Accelerator, which is funded through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. Funding will help drive wider government efforts to ensure as many homes as possible reach an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2035, with higher ratings likely to result in lower fuel bills.

Based on a standard occupancy and heating regime, owner-occupiers improving their homes to EPC C could save over £460 a year on their energy bills.

Winners of the awards

• Aceleron Limited will receive £199,697 to trial an Energy Storage as a Service subscription model for the provision and maintenance of lithium-ion batteries.
• Arctica Partners Limited will receive £169,210 to investigate a carbon credits financial product which will support home retrofit.
• Arniston Ltd (trading as Snugg) will receive £170,870 to develop a prototype version of the Green Home Hub to guide customers on the journey from initial enquiry, to developing a retrofit plan, funding the work, engaging with installers and monitoring the results.
• Ashman Bank Limited will receive £200,000 to design and develop a new variant of buy-to-let to be known as Impact Buy to Let (IBTL), which will be underpinned by an assessment of the retrofit works needed to enhance the energy efficiency of a property.
• Aviva Equity Release UK Limited will receive £87,612 to design an equity release proposition, targeted as a cost-effective way of funding home improvements to improve the energy efficiency and the EPC rating of customers’ homes.
• Bankers without Boundaries will receive £99,241 to explore the design of a service which will display homes on a geographic heatmap, highlighting where energy saving returns from retrofits are economically sufficient to support individual consumer investment or how whole areas could be aggregated for a blended return.
• Chameleon Technology (UK) Limited will receive £155,692 to develop a complete solution which enables homeowners to accurately assess their home energy efficiency and offers a tailored loan product to meet their retrofit needs.
• City Science Corporation Limited will receive £199,916 to explore ways to provide buy-to-let landlords with a comprehensive solution for upgrading their properties. They have also secured £199,330 to provide, through research and analysis, a clear understanding of the legal and commercial challenges facing the Heat as a Service (HaaS) industry and offer practical solutions to enable the delivery of HaaS in the UK.
• Clydesdale Bank PLC (trading as Virgin Money) will receive £171,000 to remove the upfront cost barrier to installing retrofit measures facing the ‘able to pay’ market, as well as providing robust technical guidance on appropriate energy efficiency improvement measures to consumers.
• Cybermoor Services Ltd will receive £56,344 to develop an integrated solution targeting the barriers impacting the uptake of low-carbon heating within the harder-to-reach rural domestic market.
• E.ON Energy Solutions Ltd will receive £196,921 to develop and pilot innovative green finance products that enable home energy efficiency, low-carbon heating and potentially micro-generation improvements.
• ELPS Energy Ltd will receive £199,597 to develop an integrated one-stop-shop solution for residential retrofit financing.
• Energy Saving Trust Enterprises Limited will receive £193,674 to explore a Pathways to Green Finance service aimed at the private rented sector (PRS) looking to retrofit homes.
• Escrow-Tech Limited will receive £159,040 to create an innovative approach to green home financing as it utilises the potential (or projected) offset carbon from retrofitting activities in adjusting loan rate settings for homeowners thus reducing the cost of home retrofitting.
• Heat Scheme Limited will receive £116,238 to develop a UK-wide green home finance loan product, for use in bridging the gap between the upfront cost of a gas boiler replacement and the net cost of a heat pump installation after applying a £5,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.
• Kamma Limited will receive £200,000 to drive energy efficiency retrofit upgrades in UK properties by developing an online, end-to-end retrofit marketplace connecting homeowners, green finance providers and retrofit installers.
• Landslide Energy Ltd will receive £126,110 to shorten retrofit payback periods for homeowners who are looking to remortgage and living in properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or lower.
• Leeds City Council will receive £194,780 to develop a one-stop-shop (OSS) delivery vehicle to create and test green finance retrofit offers.
• Parity Projects Limited will receive £165,589 to investigate the potential for a sustainable retrofit one-stop-shop that meets homeowner needs and overcomes barriers in the current retrofit journey.
• People Powered Retrofit Limited will receive £120,911 to develop a mutual, local and trusted one-stop-shop approach to retrofit, combining quality assurance, financing and verification, and setting out replication plans to take advantage of the extensive network of UK Credit Unions.
• Perenna Bank PLC will receive £193,350 to bring to market a long-term, fixed-rate green mortgage that incentivises homeowners to retrofit by offering to reduce their mortgage rate.
• Phoenix Group Management Services Limited will receive £102,249 to explore a solution to enable older, less-affluent, homeowners make decarbonising home improvements through using lifetime mortgages.
• Scroll Finance Limited will receive £136,572 to develop a point-of-sale financing technology solution to be deployed for retrofit decarbonisation projects. They have also been awarded £158,608 to scope, design and test an end-to-end retrofit journey embedded with an innovative and flexible financial product in three pilot areas.
• Sunsave Group Ltd will receive £196,395 to research the roadblocks that remain for subscription solar PV and to develop a proposition that can be brought to market and rapidly scaled.

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 17 May 2023.

Organisations using licence-exempt energy to benefit from up to thousands of pounds in support.

Steelmakers, recycling plants and manufacturers are among the hundreds of businesses that will benefit from a new scheme launched by the government today to help with the cost of their energy bills.

Most businesses across the country are receiving money off their energy costs automatically, thanks to an unprecedented support package from the government totalling around £7 billion so far – amounting to over £35 million a day.

However, a selection of companies – including some large chemical plants and those providing critical national infrastructure – require a bespoke support scheme to subsidise energy from a licence-exempt supplier.

Some suppliers can benefit from licence exemptions for various reasons, for example if they operate on a small scale with limited impact on the electricity system. Companies may use a licence-exempt supplier because they are based on a site with a private network or operate directly within the wholesale energy market.

From today these companies – known as Non-Standard Customers – can now apply for help with their bills from April 2023 to March 2024, similar to the support others will receive under the government’s Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS).

For some, these discounts could amount to thousands of pounds off their energy bills and provide vital help with their cashflow, following the impact of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine on global energy costs. The move comes as the government continues to deliver on its promise to protect jobs, grow the economy and halve inflation.

Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability Amanda Solloway said:

This country has a proud industrial history and one that we must protect from the volatile energy market, following Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.

Energy prices are falling, but we must continue to do all we can to help our vital UK industries – from recycling to manufacturing and steel.

That’s why we’re going above and beyond to make sure all businesses can access our support, even if they get their energy via non-standard routes – and I urge these customers to check their eligibility today.

Director of Policy at the Association for Renewable Energy & Clean Technology (REA) Frank Gordon, said:

The REA welcomes the news that more companies are receiving support through both the EBRS and EBDS non-standard cases scheme. It is encouraging to see more businesses than previously, now be supported under EBDS in the future. In the longer term, businesses can make considerable bill savings by moving to renewable energy supplies, such as by generating their own renewable energy on-site.

Some of these businesses and organisations that use a licence-exempt supplier can also from today apply for backdated support under the Non-Standard Cases Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

Those that get their licence-exempt supply from the public grid were given access to this support from October 2022 to March 2023. The scheme has now been extended to cover the same cohort as the Non-Standard Cases Energy Bills Discount Scheme. This means companies that get a licence-exempt supply from waste, anaerobic digestion and biomass plants will now be able to retrospectively apply for energy discounts to match support others received this winter.

The government is urging companies to check their eligibility on GOV.UK, as both suppliers of licence-exempt energy and their customers can apply for the new schemes via the government website from today. Payments will be made either to the provider to pass on or directly to the customer depending on who made the application.

The new rate of support provided through the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which launched on 1 April, reflects wholesale energy prices falling to their lowest level since before Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Higher levels of support are offered to eligible energy and trade intensive industries and heat network operators – with some businesses expected to save 20% of predicted wholesale energy costs.

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 12 May 2023.

The UK’s first system drawing heat from deep underground to provide low-cost heating for nearly 4,000 homes is one of 7 innovative projects backed by government funding.

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 11 May 2023.

Government to broaden benefits packages for areas that agree to have local onshore wind farms.

New and improved reward schemes, including the potential of lower bills, could be offered by developers to communities in England who want to support onshore wind farms in their area, under proposals announced by the government today.

The government recognises the range of views on onshore wind. Decisions on onshore wind are best made by local representatives who know their areas best and underpinned by democratic accountability. To deliver this, and our commitments in the British Energy Security Strategy, we are consulting on a more localist approach that provides local authorities more flexibility to respond to the views of their local communities.

Today’s proposals build on benefits already offered by developers to areas that agree to have onshore wind farms locally. These include holding a stake in a turbine, which gives them the potential to receive profits from the site’s operation, or funding for new community facilities, such as charging points for electric cars or new sports and recreation facilities.

As part of a consultation launched today, the government is proposing that emerging and innovative types of community benefits, such as energy bill discounts, are added to the range of reward schemes that onshore developers currently offer host communities. This would be agreed between developers and communities on a case-by-case basis.

It is also proposing best practice principles of engagement, currently published by the government, are embedded into planning guidance for local authorities and developers to ensure the views of the community are heard and addressed.

Read and respond to the consultation on Developing local partnerships for onshore wind in England.

These changes will further place local people at the heart of the government’s plan Powering Up Britain and deliver cheaper, cleaner and more secure homegrown energy.

Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Graham Stuart said:

Onshore wind is a vital part of our plans to deliver cheaper, cleaner, and more secure homegrown energy.

It is right that new developments have the support of host communities, and that local people benefit directly from it, such as through either a discount on their energy bills or other significant community benefits.

Our proposals will ensure developers and local residents can work together more efficiently to maximise community benefits for supportive communities while delivering the clean and secure energy the country needs.

Community benefits can have a lasting positive impact on local residents. For example, when building its Tirgwynt Wind farm in Wales, developer Belltown Power engaged with the local community and identified the need to support educational facilities in the area. The company provided £2.5 million – with match funding from the local council – to build a new school building, saving it from closure. The wind farm now hosts an annual visit for local school children.

The proposals set out today include:

• formally embedding best practice principles of engagement between developers and communities, as outlined in existing community engagement guidance published by the government, into official planning guidance for local authorities and developers. This will strengthen the way in which developers are transparent and receptive when they engage with communities through digital and online methods
• working with RenewableUK to update their existing Community Benefits Protocol for England to account for emerging and innovative types of community benefit packages, such as local energy bill discounts and other new and improved community rewards

Onshore wind will continue to be decided at a local level. Today’s proposals build on a government consultation run earlier this year on how proposals demonstrate support for the onshore wind project locally and how they address impacts identified by the local community. The government is currently analysing the responses and will respond in due course.

The government is investing billions of pounds into renewable and nuclear technologies to reduce the country’s reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets that, impacted by Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, led to the unprecedented increase in people’s energy bills.

The government acted swiftly and decisively, covering around half of a typical family’s energy bill this winter. But the longer-term answer is to achieve greater energy security, developing cleaner, cheaper and more secure homegrown energy sources – including both offshore and onshore wind.

With almost 15GW of it deployed in the UK, onshore wind has a key role to play in creating a more secure and cleaner energy system and to meet the UK’s ambition to have amongst the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe.

With the costs of onshore wind having already fallen dramatically – currently around half what they were less than a decade ago – these proposals have the potential to play a crucial role in boosting the UK’s energy security, where there is local support. The government is clear that where communities host this vital infrastructure, they should benefit directly from it.

RenewableUK’s Head of Onshore Wind James Robottom said:

We’re pleased that the government is consulting on the wide range of benefits which onshore wind can offer to local communities in England. We have a long track record of working closely with communities to ensure that they decide what form these benefits will take, depending on the needs and priorities of local people.

Building strong relationships with local communities as early as possible is the best way to establish successful partnerships which last for decades. Alongside much-needed planning reforms, this consultation provides an opportunity to increase the amount of cheap clean power we can generate for consumers as well as strengthening our nation’s energy security.

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 9 May 2023.

The Net Zero Council will support industry to help cut their emissions and develop greener practices.

The leaders of some of the world’s leading banks, energy companies, technology giants and finance firms are among those to have attended the first-ever meeting of the Net Zero Council today (Tuesday 9 May 2023).

Co-chaired by Energy Minister Graham Stuart and Coop Group chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq, the Council will support industry to help cut their emissions, and develop greener practices – as well as delivering on the government’s priority to grow the economy by finding ways to ensure British businesses can benefit from the UK’s world-leading position in renewable technologies and achieving net zero, and export their expertise globally.

Siemens, SSE, HSBC and NatWest as well as Lloyds of London are among those on the Council, and will be meeting on a quarterly basis to ensure businesses are a key part of achieving net zero.

Energy Minister Graham Stuart said:

The Net Zero Council provides the high-level forum for government, business and finance leaders to work together to unlock the opportunities of the green transition.

Tackling emissions can make businesses more energy efficient, improve UK energy security and, in turn, cut costs. It can open up opportunities to export UK developed solutions around the world, expand UK market share and create jobs.

The UK has cut its emissions more than any other major economy and the Net Zero Council – meeting today for the first time – will ensure that leaders of UK businesses can help guide government and vice versa so that our environmental leadership translates into economic advantage.

The Net Zero Council includes some of the most senior business and finance leaders in the country. I am grateful that such extraordinary people are prepared to contribute their knowledge, experience and talent for the benefit of both this country and future generations.

In 2020 the UK was estimated to already have over 400,000 jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country, with turnover at £41.6 billion. Over 80,000 green jobs are currently being supported or are in the pipeline because of new government policies since 2020, with that expected to increase to as many as 480,000 in 2030.

The new Council discussed the UK’s already world-leading position on net zero and the importance of building one coherent voice across government, finance and business to support the UK’s key sectors in the net zero transition.

Construction, manufacturing, retail and water and waste were identified as priority sectors to support and focus on, alongside the UK’s world-class university and R&D sectors, with capabilities of building cutting-edge technologies of the future, such as green aviation, hydrogen, CCUS and batteries.

The key objectives of the council are:

• working to ensure sectors and companies have a pathway to net zero, including looking at the barriers and connections across sectors
• leading a systematic review of the financing challenges and the respective roles of government, industry and the financial sector in addressing them
• identifying key challenges facing SMEs up and down the country in reducing their carbon footprints and supporting their transition with new information and advice

Co-op Group CEO, Shirine Khoury-Haq, said:

We are in the grip of a climate crisis of humankind’s making and this is the single most important issue that the global community faces. It is vital that all businesses actively contribute to the Net Zero journey with vigour, as failure to seize this opportunity simply cannot be an option.

I look forward to working with government – who have a role too – in driving industry to go further, as it’s clear we must all reduce carbon emissions at a faster rate.

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 9 May 2023.

Companies licensed to drill in North Sea to report findings to regulator in new powers brought forward in Energy Bill amendment.

A ‘treasure map’ of what lies beneath the North Sea will be created to help the UK become a world leader in carbon capture and storage.

Companies already at the forefront of this technology and licensed to drill in the North Sea will have to report what they find to the regulator, which will develop the most comprehensive picture yet of the geological area’s make-up.

This information can then be used to unlock the UK’s huge potential by quantifying for investors how much carbon capture and storage could be possible. This could attract more companies to the UK, supporting as many as 50,000 green jobs by 2030, helping to grow the economy and delivering on the Prime Minister’s priorities.

The government intends to bring forward these new powers for the North Sea Transition Authority in an amendment to the Energy Bill, which had its Second Reading in the House of Commons today.

The Energy Bill was introduced to Parliament on 6 July 2022. It will deliver a cleaner, more affordable, and more secure energy system over the long-term for the UK, while liberating private investment in clean technologies.

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps said:

The UK is in prime position to become a world leader in carbon capture and storage – a whole new industry that could boost our energy security, help cut our own emissions and those of our European neighbours and create thousands of jobs for the future.

By working with the brightest and best who are already out in the North Sea, we can grow our economy by building the treasure map needed to unlock the full potential of this geological goldmine.

Minister for the Energy Bill, Nuclear and Networks, Andrew Bowie said:

Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine has laid bare the need to transform our energy system, and our landmark Energy Security Bill will mean homes and businesses across the UK benefit from a cleaner, more affordable and more secure energy system.

With security at its heart, the Bill is the most significant piece of energy legislation in a decade and puts the UK on the path to cleaner electricity by ramping up carbon storage and our technologies of the future.

Stuart Payne, North Sea Transition Authority Chief Executive, said:

Carbon storage is essential to reaching net zero, and the industry requires a wealth of reliable information to select sites to store millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases.

The NSTA welcomes these new powers to collect this vital data and share it with the industry as it leads the orderly transition and provides thousands of skilled jobs.

Carbon Capture and Storage involves separating carbon dioxide from industry and storing it safely under the seabed in spaces left by oil and gas extraction. Thanks to the geological make-up of the UK, this country is almost uniquely placed to benefit from this and create a whole new industry.

Estimates suggest that there may be enough space underneath the UK’s oceans – including its old oil and gas fields – to store up to 78 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent to the weight of around 15 billion elephants, and as much carbon dioxide as produced by up to 6 million cars on the road.

As well as helping cut the UK’s own emissions, this potential is believed to be so considerable that this country could also help other nations using carbon capture and storage – including other European countries – by storing their carbon emissions too.

Under plans announced in Parliament today, the government plans to grant the North Sea Transition Authority, as a carbon storage regulator, powers to obtain information and samples from those who have a licence already to store carbon.

These will give the information needed about the geological features of hidden underground spaces underneath the North Sea that have already been mapped. This will help develop an encyclopaedic knowledge about what lies beneath the waves and confirm the likely scale of the industry this could create, helping to encourage private investment.

UK government Minister for Scotland John Lamont said:

Expanding carbon capture and storage forms a vital part of our Net Zero ambitions. The new measures introduced today will propel that sector forward, while supporting up to 50,000 jobs to benefit Scotland and the whole of the UK.

Not only will this accelerate our transition to using cleaner, greener energy and enhance our energy security but it will also bring a welcome economic boost to aid our priorities of reducing debt and halving inflation.

Other forthcoming amendments to the Energy Bill announced by the government today:

• backing Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs), such as those in the steel sector, by introducing a compensation scheme that will lower the costs they EIIs have to pay to use the electricity grid. This will bring key UK businesses in line with global competitors and help make the UK one of the most attractive places to do business as part of delivering on the Prime Minister’s plan to grow the economy
• setting out the statutory role of the new nuclear body Great British Nuclear to carry out the long-term mandate the government intends for it in support of the commitment to unleashing the new generation of new nuclear for it to comprise up to 25% of the UK’s energy supply by 2050
• plans to develop new business models to encourage investment in the transport and storage of hydrogen. This will be key to boosting the UK’s future energy security

Business and Trade Minister Nusrat Ghani said:

Energy-intensive industries like steel are hugely important to our economy. This measure will cut costs and help ensure they can bring high-quality jobs and investment into the UK.

This support will mean that these key industries stay in line with their global competitors, helping deliver on the Prime Minister’s priority to make the UK the most attractive place to do business and grow our economy.

The Energy Bill first entered Parliament in July last year and commits to providing a cleaner, more affordable, and more secure energy system by:

• leveraging private investment in clean technologies
• reforming the UK’s energy system so it is fit for the future
• ensuring the safety, security and resilience of the UK’s energy system

The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 9 May 2023.

Energy intensive business across the UK receive government support to become more energy efficient.

Factories producing some of the country’s best-known beers, cereals, soft drinks and cars will receive government support to reduce their energy costs and cut carbon emissions.

Heineken, Kellogg’s, Toyota and Britvic are among businesses across the UK to be awarded a share of £24.3 million government funding to help clean up their manufacturing processes and improve their energy efficiency.

The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) supports businesses using high amounts of energy to reduce their fossil fuel using innovative low-carbon technologies. This will help companies save on their energy costs, which in turn will safeguard British jobs and help grow the economy – one of the government’s 5 priorities.

• Heineken is receiving £3.7 million to upgrade their Manchester Brewery, including installing technology to recover waste heat from the refrigeration systems used to cool their beer
• Toyota in Derby is receiving over £282,000 to introduce new airless paint sprayers, which use static electricity instead of air, to reduce the amount of energy they need
• Britvic Soft Drinks will use £4.4 million to implement new technologies, including a heat recovery system and Low Temperature Hot Water network, at its site in east London, where it produces drinks such as Tango and Robinsons
• Kellogg’s in Wrexham will receive funding for a study assessing the possibility of recovering the waste heat from their cereal manufacturing processes to reduce their gas usage
• Tate and Lyle Sugars, which supplies nearly half of all the sugar and syrup on UK supermarket shelves, is receiving over £71,800 to explore how to reduce natural gas use at their Thames Refinery

Other recipients include Ingevity UK in Warrington, which will receive £2.6 million for hydrogen ready natural gas fuelled boilers at their chemicals plant, Natural World Products in Dunmurry, a producer of peat-free composts and soil conditioners, is receiving nearly £300,000 to replace diesel-powered plant equipment with electric kit, and Breedon Cement is receiving over £231,000 for a feasibility study on using carbon capture technologies at their site in Hope, Derbyshire.

Energy-intensive industries are responsible for 11% of the UK’s total emissions and represent over 70% of UK industrial emissions. While the UK is making excellent progress on the road to net zero, having cut emissions by 48% between 1990 and 2021 – decarbonising faster than any other G7 country – it is estimated that industry will need to cut their emissions by two thirds by 2035 for the UK to achieve its net zero target.

Minister for Energy Efficiency Lord Callanan said:

We are leading the world in reaching net zero, having cut emissions by 48% – but to keep up this progress and achieve our green goals, we’ve got to transform our industrial sectors, as some of the industries most critical to our economy are also those with the highest emissions.

Today, we’re backing them with government funding to use the latest technologies to cut their emissions and their reliance on fossil fuels – helping to future-proof these industries as we grow our green economy.

This will not only cut their energy costs but also boost their competitiveness on the world stage, helping them thrive and protecting the thousands of jobs they offer across the country.

Matt Callan, Senior Director Supply Chain at Heineken UK, said:

We are proud to have ambitious targets when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint, within both our own operations and across our entire value chain. For over 150 years, we have been passionate about making a positive impact and more than ever it is clear that there is no time to waste in taking action to reduce carbon emissions.

This investment and IETF funding will enable us to act faster, and with the commitment and passion of our colleagues and partners, will help us raise the bar at our Manchester Brewery to brew our beers in a more sustainable way.

The project will make a significant contribution on our journey to carbon neutrality and provide us with the learnings to reapply across our other sites as we continue our journey to brew a better world.

Phil Makin, Technical Development Manager at Kellogg UK said:

The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund is enabling our Wrexham site to unlock future sustainability savings and benefits, whilst driving down our overall carbon footprint and helping towards Kellogg’s 2030 carbon neutral target.

Sarah Webster, Britvic’s Sustainable Business Director, said:

We are passionate about delivering on our ambition to be net zero by 2050, and we are pleased to have reduced our direct emissions by over 30% since 2017.

We want to go further faster, but we can’t do it alone. Alongside our sustainable investment programme, this IETF grant will help us reduce our carbon emissions at our much-loved London site by a further 50%.

This will benefit our employees, the local community, our customers and consumers who can feel reassured that we take our environmental responsibilities seriously.

A total of £289 million is being made available to businesses through the IETF up to 2027 and today’s allocations take amount awarded under the scheme so far to £61.4 million.

Today’s announcement builds on the wide-ranging support that has been made available to energy-intensive industries. This includes:

• businesses have been supported throughout the winter with £5.6 billion of support, enabling some to only pay around half of the predicted wholesale energy costs
• the Energy Bill Relief Scheme has provided a discount on non-domestic (business, public sector and voluntary sector organisations) gas and electricity unit prices; this 6-month scheme expired in March 2023
• the Energy Bill Discount Scheme started on 1 April 2023; the new scheme will mean eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users may receive a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024
• the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) discount will provide a higher level of support to businesses and organisations in eligible sectors
• the government has provided over £800 million since 2013 to help industrial sectors with energy costs, with many businesses able to bid for competitive funds of over £1.5 billion to support them going green

The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund is one of many schemes that form part of the government’s commitment to reduce overall UK energy demand by 15% by 2030, alongside the wider ambition for the UK to move towards greater energy independence.

Full list of recipients are as follows:

• Ardagh Glass Limited in Doncaster is receiving £1.7 million for their Doncaster Efficient Furnace Project, which will develop a brand-new container glass production furnace at the facility
• Mitsubishi Chemicals UK in Hull is receiving over £3.1 million to install state-of-the-art technology which will combust waste gas to generate energy
• Naylor Industries in Barnsley, a specialist clay pipe manufacturer, is receiving over £73,100 to explore re-using waste heat from the exhaust gases of their kilns, to make their manufacturing process more energy efficient
• Wienerberger Limited in Doncaster is receiving over £220,000 to install a more efficient energy and heat recovery system, including an electric heat pump, to replace gas oil and generate no carbon emissions at their concrete roof tile factories
• Heineken UK is receiving £3.7 million to upgrade their Manchester Brewery, including installing technology to recover waste heat from the refrigeration systems used to cool their beer
• Basell Polyolefins UK is receiving over £1.12 million to reduce natural gas usage at their plastics plant in Carrington, Greater Manchester
• Cargill in Manchester is receiving over £1 million for a project improving the energy efficiency and reducing emissions from their glucose manufacturing process, including through installing electric heat pump technology
• Ingevity UK in Warrington is receiving over £2.6 million to replace the current boiler systems at their chemicals plant with new hydrogen ready natural gas fuelled boilers
• European Metal Recycling in Liverpool is receiving over £390,000 to install new equipment to make their metal shredding process more efficient
• Rock Chemicals Limited in Warrington is receiving over £100,000 to install technology that blends chemicals using ultrasound instead of being powered by diesel
• Weir Minerals Europe Limited in Todmorden, Lancashire, is receiving over £137,000 to carry out a study on improving the energy efficiency of their foundry at Todmorden by recovering and reusing waste heat
• AB Inbev UK in Preston, makers of Budweiser, is receiving over £61,500 to carry out a study on using a heat pump to reduce carbon emissions from their brewery
• Magnavale Limited in Chesterfield is receiving nearly £372,000 to install a cutting-edge refrigeration system for food products that uses less energy than traditional systems
• Breedon Cement in Hope, Derbyshire is receiving over £231,000 for a feasibility study on using carbon capture technologies at their Hope site
• Lhoist UK Limited is receiving over £92,000 for a decarbonisation study at their Hindlow plant, near Buxton in Derbyshire, which manufactures high-quality lime
• Toyota UK in Derby is receiving over £282,000 to introduce new airless paint atomisers for their automotive site, which aims to reduce the amount of energy required for their painting processes by reducing the spray booth size and equipment
• Pioneer Foods Limited, a cereal manufacturer in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, is taking forward 3 different projects, with grants of over £27,000, £29,000, and £136,000 respectively; the projects include exploring reusing waste wheat products as a biomass fuel, installing a biomass combined heat and power system, and improving the energy efficiency of their ovens
• Tate and Lyle Sugars is receiving nearly £72,000 for a study exploring how to reduce natural gas use – and therefore also carbon emissions – at their Thames Refinery in East London
• Britvic Soft Drinks in London is receiving £4.4 million to implement the latest low carbon technologies at its production site at Beckton where it makes drinks such as Tango and Robinsons; improvements will include using a heat recovery system, and a new Low Temperature Hot Water network
• Ibstock Brick Limited, a leading UK manufacturer of clay and concrete building products in Pullborough, West Sussex is receiving over £241,000 for technology that will reuse waste heat to reduce their energy usage
• GKN Aerospace Services in Filton near Bristol is receiving over £231,000 for their Sustainable Transformation of Emissions for Aerospace Manufacturing (STEAM) project investigating energy efficiency technologies that can be implemented at their Filton site
• Kellogg’s in Wrexham, North Wales is receiving £19,000 for a study assessing the possibility of recovering the waste heat from their cereal manufacturing processes to reduce their gas usage
• Natural World Products (NWP) in Dunmurry, a producer of peat-free composts and soil conditioners, is receiving nearly £300,000 for fuel switching projects, replacing diesel-powered plant equipment with more modern and cutting edge equivalents that are fully powered by electricity
• FP McCann Limited is receiving £3.39 million for energy efficiency improvements of the crushing and concrete manufacturing process at its Craigall Quarry in Kilrea