Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what grant funding is available to help small businesses improve their Energy Performance Certificate ratings to at least C; and whether he plans to introduce new such grants for small businesses.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
EPC’s are an important metric to ensure that small businesses are as energy efficient as possible, allowing them to understand where bill savings and carbon emission reductions can be achieved. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme continues to provide grants of up to £7,500 for small non-domestic property owners, with the threshold for single heat pump installations set at 45kWh. This helps install low carbon heating systems and improve EPC ratings.
Additionally, the Government’s Business Energy Advice Service pilot scheme has so far supported nearly 3000 SMEs in the West Midlands with expert energy efficiency and decarbonisation advice. 340 grants have been awarded with a value of £8.7m.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of pausing the current government subsidies for Drax’s power generation until the Public Accounts Committee reports on its inquiry on Government support for biomass.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has agreed new Heads of Terms with Drax for short term support from 2027 to 2031. It halves the subsidy paid to Drax, strengthens the sustainability arrangements to require 100% sustainable biomass, and reduces Drax’s generation so that it only operates when absolutely necessary on the system.