Green mortgages could fire renewables market
As part of the Government's Renewable Energy Strategy, households are to have access to 'green mortgages' that will help them fund investments in double glazing, insulation and renewable technologies.
The strategy is due to be announced later this week and the loans are seen as a key element in stimulating the sluggish renewables market.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband will announce that seven million homes need to be upgraded by 2020 with the rest of the housing stock being 'greened' by 2030. Making low cost finance available to homeowners is critical to this target, he believes.
The mortgages will, effectively, be low interest loans of between £10,000 and £15,000 per home repayable over periods up to 25 years and secured on the property. It will be passed to the new owner when the house is sold.
The idea is that the energy savings will be higher than the annual repayments so green mortgage holders should make a profit.
There will be different packages available from relatively small loans to cover low cost energy efficiency improvements and new condensing boilers up to expensive packages of over £30,000 to cover measures such as full house insulation, solar water heating and ground source heat pumps.
David Adams, chairman of the UK Green Buildings Council, believes that a large number of contractors will have to be employed to carry out street-by-street energy upgrades over the next few years.
M&E Sustainability will be responding to the Government's overall renewable energy strategy later this week.