Apr

Government swings behind heat pumps with £30m fund to install 5.5m by 2030

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The government will spend £30 million making British heat pumps this year as part of its bid to reduce demand for gas and address the current energy crisis.

A Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition is part of the UK Energy Security Strategy to ‘supercharge’ clean energy and expand nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen, oil and gas, while supporting domestic oil and gas production in the short term.

It follows the announcement of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme last week, allowing landlords to claim £5,000 towards the cost of an air source heat pump.

The Heat Pump Association has welcomed the news after calling on Ministers to help strengthen the UK supply chain and remove barriers to installation.

Chair Phil Hurley (pictured) believes it has never been more important for heat pumps to be deployed at scale in UK homes. “We remain committed to collaborating with government and industry to make this happen,” says Hurley.

“Not only can heat pumps reduce carbon now but their benefits will increase over time as the grid continues to decarbonise.”

The government hopes to fit 5.5 million heat pumps in UK homes by 2030 with the aim of phasing out all gas boilers by 2035. However, the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering has previously warned that the infrastructure is not in place for wholesale adoption of low carbon heating and that 100,000 engineers trained to install the new technology are needed.

The Energy Security Strategy published yesterday (7th April) includes an ambition to produce up to 50W from offshore wind by 2030, more than enough to power every home in the UK and also promises to look to increase the UK’s current 14GW of solar capacity by up to five times by 2035, by consulting on the rules for solar projects, particularly on domestic and commercial rooftops.

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