18.02.20
Gov announces £90m fund to cut carbon emissions
A £90m funding package has been announced by government today (Feb 18) to tackle carbon emissions in industry and homes across the UK.
Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng has outlined the funding today, with £70m of it to include setting up two of Europe’s first low carbon hydrogen production plants.
The first plant will be based on the banks of the Mersey and the second planned for close to Aberdeen.
The development of wind harnessing technology will make up a third project off the Grimsby coast to power electrolysis and produce hydrogen.
PSE has previously published the benefits of hydrogen in a guest blog from Prof. Joe Howe as an alternative to fossil fuels, with the potential to power future industry and transport.
The funding will boost research and trial projects for switching industrial production from fossil fuels to renewables within industry.
The remaining £20m will be directed at cutting household emissions through nine UK-wide “smart energy” projects.
The projects are aiming to deliver 250,000 homes powered by local renewable sources by 2030, cutting energy bills revolutionising local energy generation.
Plans will be piloted in 10 communities, from Rugeley near Stafford to Colerain in Northern Ireland, making local communities a key factor in the fight against climate change.
Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, said:
“Cleaning up emissions from industry and housing is a big challenge but today’s £90 million investment will set us on the right path as we develop clean technologies like hydrogen.
“This is an important part of our world-leading efforts in eliminating our contribution to climate change by 2050 while also growing our economy, creating up to 2 million green collar jobs across the country by 2030.”
Proposed local projects have the potential to be scaled up and rolled out across different industries, being a huge factor in the government’s promise to net zero carbon by 2050.
Listen to Prof. Joe Howe on the PSE podcast discussing hydrogen as an alternative energy source. Joe will also be speaking at the EvoNorth event on the 5th March in Manchester