Mears Group Welcomes Latest Government Energy Efficiency Funds

This week, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have published a press release outlining the breakdown of the ￡6 billion funding allocated for families, businesses and industry to improve energy efficiency.

At Mears, our goal is to reduce carbon emissions and fuel stress in the communities we serve and to provide warmer, healthier homes for all. This announcement allows us to build on the work we deliver to improve energy efficiency of homes across the UK, in partnership with our clients.

Mike McGowan, Head of Carbon Reduction Solutions at Mears Group and Chair of the Policy Working Group of the National Home Decarbonisation Group (NHDG) said:

“It is fantastic to see DESNZ continuing to engage with leaders across the housing sector to ensure we can meet the challenge ahead. Building on the activities across the last Parliament, there is a clear commitment from Government and civil servants to ensure the housing sector is able to plan with certainty for the coming years. When coupled with consistent policy, a steady funding pipeline is the key to us achieving our net zero targets, helping us create long term plans for retrofit and decarbonisation.”

The new funding will enable Mears to continue building its supply chain and deliver on the aspirations of housing providers, home owners and other tenures across the nation.

The announcement includes the following schemes (subject to business case approval and value for money assessments):

• the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, allocated a further ￡1.5 billion, to support families in England and Wales move away from gas to energy efficient, low-carbon heat pumps
• a new ￡400 million energy efficiency grant, launching in 2025, for households in England to make changes such as bigger radiators or better insulation
• a new local authority retrofit scheme, allocated ￡500 million to support up to 60,000 low-income and cold homes, including those off the gas grid, with measures such as insulation
• the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, allocated ￡1.25 billion to support up to 140,000 social homes to be insulated or retrofitted, improving energy performance and lowering bills
• the Green Heat Network Fund, allocated ￡485 million to help up to 60,000 homes and buildings access affordable, low carbon heating through new heat networks, reducing our use of fossil fuels and providing more reliable heating
• the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme, allocated ￡45 million to improve around 100 existing heat networks, in a move that will reduce bills and improve reliability
• the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, allocated ￡225 million, will continue to help businesses transition to a low-carbon future

To find out more about we're doing to help the planet, visit https://www.mearsgroup.co.uk/esg/healthy-planet