Glass half full

As the dust settles on the biggest tax shake-up for years, those hoping the UK moves to a greener economy find themselves with their glass half full. The big win (aside from the £55,000 tax break if you earn £1 million!) came with the ending of what has effectively been a ban on onshore wind farm development and a commitment to speed up offshore wind farm development. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed planning rules will be relaxed and wind turbine development will be brought into line with other energy construction projects as part of the UK Growth Plan. According to RenewableUK’s CEO Dan McGrail this could be a game-changer in speeding up the transition to low-cost renewable power. Whilst the estimated £60bn the Government will pay fossil fuel energy suppliers to keep household bills to £2,500 a year can’t be seen as green, the spiralling cost of gas and oil, the ticking clock to when those subsidies disappear, and lessons learned on the dangers of being over-reliant on foreign energy supply should maintain focus on the need to move to a sustainable alternative. The Chancellor confirmed energy providers will have to stump up £1bn over the next three years to provide insulation and more efficient boilers to the most vulnerable – measures that will in turn lead to £200 annual savings for the poorest households. But that is a drop in the ocean compared with the 19 million households still lacking effective home insulation. The soaring energy prices make the move to heat pumps more and more attractive and whilst there were no additional incentives, announced in the mini-budget to encourage households to invest in switching, it’s undoubtedly got more people thinking about it. It would appear the jury is still out on whether Trussenomics will deliver on her predecessor’s pledge for the UK to be net zero by 2030, but it’s certainly something that Go Geothermal and its customers remain firmly focused on!

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