Utility Week

16 | NOVEMBER 2021 | UTILITY WEEK While the government is certainly not ruling out a role for hydro- gen, the strategy, and wider government sentiment, is more emphatic that heat pumps will play a big role in cutting emis- sions from warming our homes. While the target of 600,000 installations a year has been enshrined since the prime minister revealed his 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, there are now new ambitions to scale this up to 1.7 million per annum by the mid-2030s. To achieve this considerable feat (for comparison the current rate is around 35,000 per year) the govern- ment is putting the onus squarely on the industry to drive down costs through innovation. It was no accident that Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson's quote welcoming the Heat and Buildings Strategy was given star billing. Jackson has made bold statements about his company being able to install heat pumps "for about the same as gas boilers" by next April. The government has bought into this and put its faith in business to ensure heat pumps become smaller, easier to install and cheaper to run. It has committed £60 million to fund innovation to further this aim. While the strategy prompted some criticism over lack of concrete time- scales and some big decisions dodged, there is, at the very least, relief that the government has ' nally set out its short-term priorities in achieving a decarbonised housing stock. This includes a very clear call to action for businesses to invest in innovation to drive down the costs of this challenge. For now at least, the ball is back in the industry's court. James Wallin, editor Policy & Regulation Talking Points… "Alongside encouraging heat pumps, the key question is whether natural gas is going to be replaced with hydrogen or the gas network decommissioned, and only government can decide when and where that happens." Sir John Armitt, chair, NIC "With the right policy framework in place, we're confi dent the cost of a heat pump can be reduced by up to half over the coming years." Michael Lewis, CEO, Eon UK "The boiler upgrade grant will make a big diff erence and should help bring down upfront costs for heat pumps. But making changes to homes can be complex and the scale of change needed won't be achieved without more support." Dame Clare Moriarty, CEO, Citizens Advice "The government has to learn the lessons for the string of failures in the past. These schemes should be delivered in partnership with local councils – not just outsourced to the cheapest company from London." Darren Jones, chair, BEIS Committee Quote, unquote The heat is on to deliver decarbonised homes T hat there were so many false dawns in the publication of the Heat & Buildings Strategy underlines the sheer scale of the challenge involved in decarbonising the country's housing stock. This much-anticipated blueprint for rolling out low-carbon heating options across the UK's 28 million homes is seeking to tackle the source of 23% of the country's carbon emissions. It ' nally emerged less than two weeks before the COP26 climate conference, alongside a š urry of other green policy announcements, includ- ing the over-arching Net Zero Strategy. While reaction to the heat strategy, and the wider splurge of net-zero road maps, has been mixed (see quotes, right) there is at least recognition that aŸ er much bluster and headline ambi- tions, the government is ' nally getting down to (some of) the details. As Climate Change Committee chief executive Chris Stark put it: "We didn't have a plan before, now we do." For heat, the strategy is hopefully a fork in the road which allows the industry to put aside tired arguments about whether electricity or hydrogen is the better solution for decarbonising home heating. While the government's line on this has been solidifying over recent months, the heat strategy states unambiguously that it is not about to pick a winner and that investment in multiple technologies will be needed. Having said that, those pinning their hopes on hydrogen for heat will ' nd precious little in the heat strategy that was not already signalled in the bespoke document on this technology released in August. Strategic decisions on the potential for hydrogen heating will not be taken until the middle of this decade,. Comment: The long-awaited strategy on home heating leaves the door open for hydrogen – but the big bet is on heat pumps.

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