REA Proposes New Method to Fund Renewable Energy for Homes

The government should adopt a totally new system of assistance for people wanting to install renewable energies on their houses says the Renewable Energy Association.

The REA is frustrated by the failure of the government’s low-carbon buildings programme grants to boost the installation of solar panels or ground source heat pumps.  So the organizations wants £1bn fund to be set up whereby people could get up to £10,000 interest-free to fit a renewable system to their property.

The funds would be secured by a second charge on the building.  Andrew Cooper, the head of REA’s onsite rewables,  calls this a “recharge”.

If the householder later sold his or her property, the money they received from the fund would have to be returned.  The money would most likely be covered by the increase in value that the renewable energy technology would give the property, especially after the big rises in electricity and gas prices of recent years.  The returned money could be recycled by the fund to finance more renewables elsewhere.  Most houses are sold every seven years so money would move through the fund quite quickly.

The recharge system would have the advantage, says Cooper, that it would allow homeowners to avoid the big upfront costs that deter many homeowners from investing in renewables.  It would also get away from the debate about payback times

www.r-e-a.net