2012 is set to be a monumental year for Britain. Of course we are looking forward to the diamond jubilee and the Olympics, but it’s also the year in which we’ll launch the pioneering green deal, unleashing real competitive forces in the energy efficiency market.
Attracting more investment than ever before, the green deal will be the biggest home energy improvement programme of modern times, to tackle our draughty and expensive-to-heat housing stock.
In a world of increasing prices, market volatility and reliance on imports, we simply cannot afford to be wasteful with energy. Our homes are among the most inefficient in Europe and up to 4.1m households live in fuel poverty in England alone.
The time has come for a radical new approach to home energy improvement, moving away from pepper potting individual measures to whole house or property solutions.
With a game changing scheme like the green deal, some in the supply chain will feel uncomfortable that it changes ways of working they have become used to. But too many people are missing out on the benefits of energy efficiency for us to rely more of the same. Eight million solid wall homes have had no affordable solution to insulate. The green deal will change that.