DECC announced the 4th Carbon Budget to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Click on this link for the details of the announcement:
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DECC announces 4th Carbon Budget
May 17, 2011Category: News
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ENERGY BILL – 2nd reading
May 11, 2011The Energy Bill has had its second reading in the House, delivered by Chris Huhne Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
“I beg to move that the Bill be now read a second time.
Mr Speaker, over the past year, energy policy has been in the spotlight.
From the Gulf of Mexico to Fukushima, no-one can doubt the importance of our energy choices.
And for the first time, scientists have linked greenhouse gas emissions to an increased risk of major floods.
Faced with a difficult financial situation, the Government’s objectives are clear.
We must secure affordable energy supplies for the future; and we must avoid dangerous climate change.
Neither will be easy. The gap between our energy demand and our energy supply is growing. We are increasingly dependent on imported energy. We still rely heavily on unclean and unsustainable fossil fuels.
By law, we must cut our emissions by 80% by 2050. We must get 15% of our energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Our energy infrastructure is ageing. Our old polluting power stations are shutting down.
Building the next generation of power plants will take time and money. If we are to cut our carbon emissions and keep the lights on, we must act now.
And the cheapest way of closing the gap between supply and demand is to reduce the amount of energy use.
Mr Speaker, the Energy Bill contains provisions to boost our energy security, encourage low-carbon technologies, and improve energy efficiency.
It places a new obligation on energy companies to reduce carbon emissions and support vulnerable consumers.
And it delivers a key Coalition commitment: the Green Deal. A self-financing building improvement scheme to bring our properties into the 21st century…”
The full transcript of the reading is available on the DECC website
Category: News
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Government action on low energy efficient properties
May 11, 2011Huhne gets tough on landlords of draughty homes
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has today announced plans to introduce regulations to ensure that all landlords would face minimum energy efficiency standards under the Green Deal.
Under the proposals, announced at Second Reading of the Energy Bill:
- From April 2016 landlords will not be able to refuse reasonable requests from tenants, or local authorities acting on behalf of tenants, to improve their property;
- From April 2018 the government will make it unlawful to rent out a house or business premise which has less than an “E” energy efficiency rating, ensuring at least 682,000 properties will have to be improved.
The Green Deal is the coalition’s national plan of home improvements to make houses and businesses cheaper to run through better energy efficiency. From next year, people will be able to access finance to pay for the upfront cost of work which will be paid back through savings on lower fuel bills.
The proposals will help the most vulnerable as more than a quarter of a million of the worst insulated rented homes are classed as fuel poor.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said:
“Our proposals provide a voice for tenants living in poorly insulated, draughty homes. The Green Deal is a win-win opportunity for landlords by removing the upfront cost of work to upgrade the property making it cheaper to run, more environmentally friendly and ultimately more attractive to rent.
“For those landlords who don’t take up the Green Deal then we will get tough so that by 2018 the poorest performing rented housing stock is brought up to a decent standard.”
In the budget the Chancellor George Osborne committed to introduce measures to encourage and incentivise the take up of the Green Deal ahead of its introduction in Autumn 2012.
Notes for Editors:
- Further detail of what’s in the Energy Bill can be found on the Energy Bill page of the DECC website
- A household is considered to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10 percent of its income on fuel for adequate heating (usually 21 degrees for the main living area, and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms).
Category: News
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DCLG confirms changes to EPC Regulations
April 14, 2011This document from DCLG outlines the changes to the EPC regulations coming into force for both domestic and commercial properties from 1st July 2011
Please click on the link below:Summary_of_changes_to_EPC_Regulations
Category: News
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Proposed Changes to EPC Regulations July 2011
April 11, 2011Proposed Changes to the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (the EPB Regulations)Summary of the changes to the EPB RegulationsThe changes to the EPB Regulations can be summarised as follows:· the changes will extend the current requirements to commission an EPC that apply to residential buildings to all buildings sold or rented out;· the requirements for the provision of an EPC with written particulars are extended to all buildings sold or rented out and the option to attach the asset rating is removed; and· the regime for lodgement of EPCs and DECs on the Register is extended to air conditioning inspection reports.The following summary details the main changes made in relation to EPCs.Commissioning an EPC before marketingA number of changes are made to regulation 5A of the EPB Regulations. In general, the onus remains on the ‘relevant person’ (i.e. the seller or landlord) to commission an EPC before marketing. The main changes are as follows:· the duty to commission an EPC before marketing is extended to the sale and rent of residential and non-residential buildings;· the current 28 day period within which an EPC is to be secured using ‘reasonable efforts’ is reduced to 7 days;· if after that 7 day period the EPC has not been secured the relevant person has a further 21 days to do so.Power to Require the Production of DocumentsTSOs currently have the power to require the ’relevant person’ (i.e. the seller or landlord) to produce copies of the EPC for inspection and to take copies if necessary. The power to require the production of documents will be extended to include persons acting on behalf of the seller or landlord – e.g. estate agents and letting agents. This means, for example, that TSOs will be authorised to require estate agents to produce evidence showing that an EPC has been commissioned where they are marketing a building without one.EPC Information in Written ParticularsCurrently, for residential sales only, the relevant person or his agent is under a duty to either attach the EPC to written particulars or include the asset rating on those particulars. The amendments to the EPB Regulations require the EPC to be attached to written particulars in relation to buildings sold or rented out. The option to include the asset rating will no longer apply.The existing definition of ‘written particulars’ as been expanded to ensure that particulars produced for rented out buildings and commercial are captured by the new requirements.Clarifying when an EPC is requiredRegulation 5 will be amended to remove the erroneous belief that the provision of the EPC can be delayed until shortly before the parties enter into a contract for sale or rent. This will be achieved by deleting the words “before entering into a contract to sell or rent the building or, if sooner” in Regulation 5(2)(b) of the EPB Regulations.The changes described above will have effect in relation to properties marketed afterthe expected coming into force date of 1st July 2011.Category: News
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Renewables Advice
March 23, 2011Category: News
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Industry body condems Reverse Auction EPCs
March 22, 2011“Websites such as NextDayEPC are examples of how quality standards are dragged lower and lower, and Quidos does not want to contribute in anyway to this attempt to degrade the industry with business practices that only benefit charlatans and promote low value ethics.” added Philip Salaman, Managing Director of Quidos “As an industry we must focus on the long term goal of reducing energy consumption and promoting efficiency within the built environment.
Category: News
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Renewable Heat Initiative Launched
March 18, 2011The Government has launched a scheme to encourage the uptake of renewable heat sources such as biomass boilers and heatpumps.
www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/PN2011_023/PN2011_023.aspx
Category: News
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Renewable Energy Exhibition in Exeter
March 18, 2011DECC presenting on Feed-in Tariff review and RHI at Renewable Energy Marketplace: 22 March, Westpoint, Exeter
The DECC official leading the ‘fast track’ review of the Feed-in Tariff, Alasdair Grainger, will be speaking at Renewable Energy Marketplace exhibition on 22 March at Westpoint, Exeter.
Category: News
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EPCs for Holiday Homes
March 18, 2011By 30th June 2011 holiday homes will require an EPC if they are let out for a combined period of 4 months in a year.
Exemptions
Mobile homes, caravans and chalets that have not been subject to building regulations are exempt.Commercial or Residential EPC?
If the property is self contained with no shared facilities it will require a residential EPCClick on these links for a Holiday Lettings and EPC Factsheet and FAQs
: EPCs & Holiday Lets
: EPCs for Holiday lets- FAQsCategory: News
