REI Mar-Apr 2012 - Renewable Energy Installer

Opportunity knocks
News: Profile
Installers should not feel disheartened by the coming of the Green Deal, says
Garry Worthington, head of Green Deal at Climate Energy, but should act soon
to benefit from the opportunities it will bring
n October this year the
I framework for the energy
efficiency market in the UK will
change beyond recognition
thanks to Green Deal, a financial mechanism
which will eliminate the need for homeowners
to pay upfront for energy efficiency measures.
It is hoped this will see an increase in
homeowners making efficiency improvements
to their homes and a reduction in the amount
of carbon emissions from homes in the UK.
The Green Deal is part of the Energy Bill
which became law in November 2011, and
brings to an end “top-down” schemes such
as Warm Front, CERT and CESP and will
instead see energy efficiency in the UK funded
and managed by private companies and
consortiums.
The Green Deal will allow homeowners
and businesses to carry out a full energy
efficiency refurbishment of their property
without any upfront costs, paid back over
a period of time up to 25 years. What’s
unique about Green Deal is that the loan
will be lodged against the property, not the
homeowner or business and repayments will
be made via the property’s electricity bill by
whoever pays the electricity bill, which could
be subsequent owners of the property or
could even be tenants.
The golden rule
However, thanks to the ‘Golden Rule’ of the
Green Deal the charge collected through
the electricity bill will be no greater than the
expected savings estimated during the initial
Green Deal process.
The Green Deal will be supported by
a new Energy Company Obligation (ECO)
which will focus on meeting the needs of
lower income households and the most
vulnerable as well as those properties needing
measures that do not meet the Golden Rule,
such as solid wall insulation.
So what does this all mean for installers?
Green Deal offers a massive opportunity for
all trades associated with energy efficiency,
environmental management, assessing,
surveying and installing. Green Deal will
encourage home owners to improve the
energy efficiency of their homes, and make
it easier for them to do so, boosting the
industry in the UK. By the end of the decade,
the government estimates that private sector
companies will have invested £14bn in the
scheme and the new ECO alone is worth
£1.3billion a year.
Above all, both Green Deal and ECO
are simply frameworks for publicly-funded
measures. Regardless of how small your
business is, everyone in the industry can help
to shape these frameworks over the next
decade, and play a huge role in transforming
the energy efficiency market in the UK.
Training is key
But, while the opportunities are massive,
installers will need to make changes to
the way they operate to benefit from the
investment that will be made. To undertake
work funded by the Green Deal, installers,
assessors and scheme providers will need
to be certified and this will involve training
Plus points: Garry Worthington, Climate
Energy, highlights the merits of the coming
Green Deal
and maintaining skills and enhancing
current levels of workmanship, quality and
customer service – all of which may have
a cost implication. UKAS, the Green Deal
accreditation body, has yet to announce the
accreditation bodies responsible for training
and approving installers. As a result, installers
cannot yet book on to any training courses, so
it’s expected a flood of companies will want to
join courses in summer this year so that they
are fully certified for the launch of Green Deal.
Even when certification is achieved,
installers will still have to adapt the way they
work. Previously funding has been made
available through Warm Front, CESP and
CERT – guaranteed forms of funding – but
installers will now have to pitch their business
directly to homeowners. Standing still and not
embracing Green Deal is simply not an option.
But installers should not be disheartened
by some of the changes they will have to
make. While preparing for the launch of
Green Deal may seem a daunting process,
the potential for financial rewards for the
industry as a result of the initiative is massive.
Installers just need to make sure they are
ready for the October launch if they don’t
want to be left behind.
www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk | 11