Row over renewable energy scheme
BBC News|October 13, 2006
A renewable energy scheme is being funded by cuts from other projects designed to promote household energy efficiency, the BBC has learned. At the Labour conference, Environment Secretary David Miliband promised £10m to help fund projects like wind power. But it has emerged schemes to promote double-glazing and insulation are to be cut to fund it. A Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesman said energy efficiency was crucial.
A renewable energy scheme is being funded by cuts from other projects designed to promote household energy efficiency, the BBC has learned. At the Labour conference, Environment Secretary David Miliband promised £10m to help fund projects like wind power. But it has emerged schemes to promote double-glazing and insulation are to be cut to fund it. A Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesman said energy efficiency was crucial.
A renewable energy scheme is being funded by cuts from other projects designed to promote household energy efficiency, the BBC has learned.
At the Labour conference, Environment Secretary David Miliband promised £10m to help fund projects like wind power.
But it has emerged schemes to promote double-glazing and insulation are to be cut to fund it.
A Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesman said energy efficiency was crucial.
A spokesman for the government-funded Energy Savings Trust has called it a “massive blow” to energy saving projects in the UK. The fund for insulation and double-glazing had originally been catered for in the Budget
Industry experts, the BBC’s environment correspondent Sarah …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]A renewable energy scheme is being funded by cuts from other projects designed to promote household energy efficiency, the BBC has learned.
At the Labour conference, Environment Secretary David Miliband promised £10m to help fund projects like wind power.
But it has emerged schemes to promote double-glazing and insulation are to be cut to fund it.
A Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesman said energy efficiency was crucial.
A spokesman for the government-funded Energy Savings Trust has called it a “massive blow” to energy saving projects in the UK. The fund for insulation and double-glazing had originally been catered for in the Budget
Industry experts, the BBC’s environment correspondent Sarah Mukherjee has said, have gone even further in their criticism of the cuts.
They say there is little point putting wind farms up in hospitals when they are providing energy that will be wasted in badly-insulated buildings, she said.
A review published in July said public planning enquiries for wind farms were taking too long, and do not always give sufficient priority to the nation’s interest.
Mr Miliband said that projects for renewable energy - like wind power - on local authority land were being held back, because public and private investment is not working together.