8 minute read
News focus
Ten-point plan plots a path to net zero
The government has set out its latest plan to achieve its carbon-emission targets, bringing in clean energy, a green, low-carbon infrastructure, and more efficient buildings. Registered Gas Engineer reports.
Late last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out the government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, which he said will tackle climate change and help to decarbonise transport, industry and power.
The plan is the next stage of the government’s aim to achieve the UK’s 2050 net-zero carbon target, with £12 billion of investment helping to create up to 250,000 green jobs across the country.
The plan outlines additional funding for offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, nuclear plants and hydrogen, with a goal to produce enough hydrogen to heat a whole town by the end of the decade.
The sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned from 2030, although hybrid vehicles can continue for a further five years, as long as most of the vehicle’s power comes from electricity, rather than petrol or diesel. The government is also pledging to accelerate the roll-out of electric vehicle charging points, with grants to encourage people to switch to the new technology.
Carl Arntzen, CEO of Worcester Bosch, says: “We welcome the new ‘green industrial revolution’ that has been set out by the Prime Minister. The UK is leading the world in its drive towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and we look
forward to working with the government to help turn admirable ambition into accelerated action. Although 2050 may seem a long way off, action needs to be taken now to ensure that we can reach it.”
The document also sets out plans to accelerate hydrogen heating. By 2023, it wants testing completed that will enable up to 20 per cent blending of hydrogen into the gas distribution grid for all homes; and for hydrogen-only heating trials to take place first in a local neighbourhood, then in a large village by 2025. It also outlines plans for a possible pilot to heat a whole town using hydrogen by the end of the decade.
Chris Goggin, associate director of operations at Rinnai UK, adds: “Hydrogen in the domestic setting is seeing up to £500 million in government funding on hydrogen trials for homes. Hydrogen can make a major contribution to decarbonising the UK energy grid… it can be potentially combusted through existing in-situ appliances, complete with smart controls and cost-effective hardware and software upgrades.”
Creating greener buildings
The government is investing £3 billion in renovating homes and public buildings to make them more energy efficient, which it says has the potential to support 140,000 jobs.
The plan says: “We will set a clear path that sees the gradual move away from fossil fuel boilers over the next 15 years as individuals replace their appliances and are offered a
lower-carbon, more efficient alternative.”
It will extend the current Green Homes Grant scheme in England by 12 months until March 2022, as part of a £1 billion investment to kickstart the low-carbon home heating market. This investment will be shared between the Green Homes Grant, the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, the Homes Upgrade Grant, which helps homeowners in off-grid areas to improve their homes, and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Viessmann UK’s marketing director Darren McMahon says: “Viessmann especially commends the strong focus of the plan on heating efficiency and decarbonisation. Heating is hard
to decarbonise – as evidenced by the limited progress over the past 10 years – and government intervention is key for success.
“The Green Homes Grant has been well received, but criticised for having too short a window to have any meaningful impact. Pent-up demand from homeowners from the first lockdown period means the nation’s heating engineers are already well booked up. To compound this further, Green Homes Grant vouchers are being issued very slowly and installations are inevitably delayed.
“Around 30 per cent of installations of Viessmann heat pumps are currently tied up, waiting for vouchers to be issued. An extension to the scheme will ensure that these projects and installations can be realised, and are open to more of the population, not just the early adopters.”
The plan also sets out a target
REVOLUTION INDUSTRIAL THE GREEN
Ten-point plan plots a path to net zero
for 600,000 heat pumps to be installed every year by 2028, which it says would “create a market-led incentive framework to drive growth…[and] leave open the choice as to whether we ultimately pursue hydrogen heating, an electrified heating system, or a mixture of both, while we continue to pilot the options”.
Steve Richmond, head of marketing and technical for
Rehau Building Solutions, adds: “The government’s pledge to install 600,000 heat pumps annually – 20 times more than the current deployment – is an encouraging sign.
“There is no denying that the net-zero emissions targets are ambitious, but by implementing proven solutions in the short to medium term, we can set a solid foundation from which exciting future innovations can build. This includes hydrogen production, which is still very much in the research and development stages, and new heat pumps and district heating schemes.
“All technologies will play their part in making net zero a reality, but tried-and-tested solutions should be prioritised in the short term if we are to achieve our goals.”
When the plan was first released, it had stated that the Future Homes Standard would be introduced by 2023 – two years earlier than previously expected – with the implication that the ban on gas boilers in new-build properties would also be brought in at this stage. However, it now states: “We will seek to implement the Future Homes Standard in the shortest possible timeline, and consult shortly on increased standards for non-domestic buildings. Homes built to Future Homes Standard will be ‘zerocarbon ready’ and have 70 to 80 per cent lower carbon emissions than those built to current standards.”
The Climate Change Committee has since released its Sixth Carbon Budget, which sets out the possible policy changes required to reduce UK greenhouse gases. It has suggested phasing out sales of gas boilers to all homes and businesses by 2033, with all new boilers required to be hydrogen-ready by 2025.
CIPHE CEO Kevin Wellman says: “At present, engineers can still fit and retrofit combi gas boilers to the current Boiler Plus Standard in England (and certain property types in Wales), with a minimum Energy-related Products efficiency of 92 per cent. However, with the government’s commitment to net zero by 2050, it’s true that natural gas-fired boilers are on borrowed time.
“The infrastructure will not be in place by 2023 to abolish gas boilers. The hydrogen network is not due to be trialled at scale (in limited areas) until 2023 and heat pump production will need to increase significantly to reach demand. Additionally, we need approximately 100,000 engineers trained to competently install the new technology. If we fail to adequately train engineers, the public and those working in the industry will be put at considerable risk.”
Upskilling engineers
A Green Jobs Taskforce is being launched to support the creation of 2 million skilled jobs to help implement the plan. The taskforce will set out plans for new long-term, good-quality, green jobs by 2030, and advise what support is needed for people in
transitioning industries.
Iain Bevan, commercial manager – heating and renewables – at Daikin UK, says: “There is a huge opportunity for green jobs as we scale up the installation of renewable heating systems. It is vital that people are able to acquire the skills and training they desperately need to develop a career in the green sector. We also need to continue to help existing tradespeople – electricians, technicians, engineers and plumbers – to diversify and upskill so that they can futureproof their businesses.”
Mark Wilkins, head of training and external affairs at Vaillant, believes there is a steep hill to climb to train enough engineers to install these systems. He says: “The real challenge comes with creating the industry to produce hydrogen sustainably, with the skills and network to deliver it to UK homes and businesses on the scale required.
“To meet the government’s target to install 600,000 heat pumps, we will need around 26,000 qualified engineers. At the moment, there are just under 1,000 MCS-accredited engineers – nowhere near enough. If newly built homes will need to be heated without fossil-fuel heating, there will be insufficient engineers on the ground to fit the types of low-carbon technology permissible in these properties – including heat pumps – and provide comfort for their occupants.
“Introducing other measures to encourage heating professionals to upskill in low-carbon heating installations would help to increase the number of qualified engineers on the ground.”
To help with this goal, Andrew Griffith MP has been appointed as the UK’s Net Zero Business Champion, to support the country’s business community to make credible plans for net zero by 2050 or earlier.
LG’s heating manager for the UK and Ireland, Andy Hooper, says: “The plan sets out a clear roadmap for the heating market over the coming years and enables manufacturers to invest in greater training capacity. What we need now is for engineers to align to these changes and embrace the change in what they do.
“The Heat Pump Association’s document* highlights the steadily increasing number of installers we will need in the UK between now and 2050, and that figure rises from just over 1,000 in 2020 up to more than 40,000 by 2050.
“It’s a staggering figure but represents the number needed to cope with the anticipated workload, and the recognition that heat pumps are the only sensible way forward.” ■
*Retrofitting Homes for Net Zero Carbon 1 www.gov.uk/government/publications/ the-ten-point-plan-for-a-green-industrialrevolution
