Heat Pumps Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Earl of Caithness
Main Page: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Earl of Caithness's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Lord Callanan (Con)
Yes is the short answer. As I mentioned earlier, we are developing options for how a long-term framework of policy approaches can set us on a path to decarbonising heat, homes and buildings. The heat and building strategy will set this out in more detail.
The Earl of Caithness (Con)
My Lords, is my noble friend rural-proofing the new strategy? He will be aware that a lot of houses in rural areas are off the mains gas grid and will need alternatives because heat pumps are so expensive. Is he considering bioenergy fuels and other alternatives?
Lord Callanan (Con)
Heat pumps are probably the best way of deploying electric heat in many rural areas, but we agree that it is a problem in rural areas that are not connected to the mains gas grid and often have shaky electricity supplies as well. This is a challenge that we are aware of, and we are meeting many representatives from the sector to work out how we can overcome these problems.