by Mathew Beech
The UK could slash 11 per cent off energy demand in 2020 compared to business as usual through “socially cost-effective investment”, according to the first energy efficiency strategy from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc).
The document, published this week, said tackling barriers to energy efficiency in the commercial, industrial and public sectors – coupled with “effectively targeted” measures in the domestic market – could cut energy use by 196TWh in 2020, equivalent to the output of 22 power stations rated at 1GW.
Decc said the strategy was an attempt to “kick-start a revolution in UK energy efficiency”. The department will fund a nationwide retrofit programme for public buildings, dubbed RE:FIT, and invest £39 million in five centres to study what drives energy demand and behaviour change.
Consumer Focus welcomed the strategy but said more radical action was needed. Before Decc’s announcement, a broad coalition of the watchdog, charities and businesses launched a campaign for revenues from the European Union Emissions Trading System and the carbon floor price to be invested in energy efficiency measures.
The Energy Bill Revolution coalition argues that such a move would create jobs and boost growth while cutting fuel poverty.
According to a report for Consumer Focus by economic analyst Cambridge Econometrics, spending 35 per cent of the
£63 billion to be raised by carbon taxes between 2012 and 2027 on energy efficiency measures would lift 75 per cent of homes out of fuel poverty.
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 16th November 2012.
Get Utility Week’s expert news and comment – unique and indispensible – direct to your desk. Sign up for a trial subscription here: http://bit.ly/zzxQxx