22.04.13
Jump in Green Deal assessments
Green Deal assessments jumped in March after a sluggish first month, DECC figures show.
March saw 7,465 of the assessments carried out, compared to just 1,729 in February, and the number of Green Deal providers has also grown to 48, up from eight at the end of October 2012.
The Green Deal launched on 28 January 2013 in England and Wales and on 25 February in Scotland.
Energy and climate change minister, Greg Barker, said: “It is clearly very early days but the latest figures on the Green Deal show that this new market is gathering real momentum. 9,268 Green Deal assessments taking place in just over two months is very encouraging and shows a genuine interest from consumers.
“The number of businesses getting on board continues to rise steadily, underlining that the Green Deal offers fantastic new commercial opportunities. 48 firms are now authorised as providers, with a further 831 registered to carry out installations and over a thousand individuals registered to offer assessments. Overall this is a really promising start for the Green Deal.”
Richard Griffiths, policy and campaigns consultant at the UK Green Building Council, called the statistics “encouraging” and said: “It is now clear that there is real momentum behind the Green Deal and ECO”. ECO, the Energy Company Obligation, which began on January 1, 2013, has replaced the former Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP).
Griffiths said: “The real proof will be how many of these assessments are ‘converted’ into installations. Long-term incentives will be key to ensuring that there is continued demand for the Green Deal and not just an initial bubble.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]