The Government has announced a new cashback incentive scheme for installing energy efficiency measures through the Green Deal in an attempt to reboot the struggling programme.
From next month, homeowners in England and Wales will be able to claim up to £7,600 from the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund to help offset the cost of getting work done through the Green Deal.
The headline incentive offered by the new scheme is 75% of the cost of solid wall insulation up to a maximum of £6,000. Also on offer is up to £1,000 for home owners that choose to install two measures from the list of qualifying improvements and a £100 refund on a Green Deal Assessment.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey said the scheme will open up the Green Deal market to smaller businesses in the energy efficiency sector.
The solid wall incentive was described as ‘encouraging’ by the insulation industry. The volume of multi-dwelling refit contracts has all but collapsed since the Government announced cuts to the Energy Companies Obligation, which has been the mainstay for solid insulation work.
The incentive scheme will be open to private and public sector landlords as well as tenants, provided applicants are paying for the improvements themselves (although state aid caps will be in place for larger landlords).
Up to £120m is available for incentives in the current financial year, although the published rates could be subject to review beyond the first £50m spend. The existing Green Deal Cashback Scheme, which has remained massively under-subscribed since its launch, comes to an end on 30 June 2014.