Innovation

To encourage more investment in renewable energy technologies in housing, the government has introduced a number of support and funding programmes.

The most recent and significant grant is the low-carbon buildings programme. Unlike most funding programmes, this one is open to private developers and businesses as well as householders and public and community organisations. It is run and managed by the Energy Saving Trust, the DTI and the Carbon Trust and will run for three years, supporting capital projects that install renewable energy technologies.

The programme is divided into categories, offering grants of up to £100,000 for retrofit and new-build projects and up to £1m for new-build and major refurbishment projects that produce exemplar low-carbon buildings that exceed the requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations. There are also grants of up to £30,000 available to householders and community groups. Competition for grants from this programme is likely to be fierce.

For any funding programme, it is strongly advisable to incorporate renewable energy technologies into the earliest possible stages of planning, but this is especially important here as applications will not be considered if the technologies have already been installed on the project.

Unlike most grants, the low-carbon buildings programme is open to private developers and businesses

In the early stages of a project, some might consider research and development funding such as the Carbon Trust’s applied research programme. It aims to support the development and commercialisation of technologies with the potential to reduce UK carbon dioxide emissions. The next call in October will award grants of up to £250,000 towards successful projects that demonstrate genuine innovation and good value for money.

In addition to grant aid, enhanced capital allowances (ECA) reward investment in the most innovative energy-saving technologies and enable a business to claim 100% first-year capital allowances against gross operating profits in the year of expenditure. It is crucial to consider ECAs early on in the design process and to use government-approved technologies.

Other incentives come in the form of energy performance certificates, which aim to encourage landlords to ensure that appropriate energy performance information is available for public display. The incentive here is that this could lead to increased returns on property investment for more energy-efficient buildings.

Organisations such as the Energy Saving Trust, the Carbon Trust and the Centre for Alternative Technology offer free surveys and guidance about renewable energy technologies, the costs and accredited installers.