§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to foster and develop a British solar thermal industry to rival those of Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. [HL129]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleIn the past, the Government have supported the solar thermal industry through a number of measures, including field trials, testing of systems, dissemination of objective information and funding for training courses. The Government recognise the importance of solar thermal in contributing to reducing carbon emissions and as such extended the enhanced capital allowance scheme to cover solar thermal in the last budget. This is in addition to the reduced VAT rate of 5 per cent that applies to professionally installed systems.
The Government are likely to further encourage the development of the solar thermal industry through the forthcoming Community and Household Capital Grants Scheme for Renewable Energy. The scheme will disburse grants to individual homeowners and community groups who wish to install renewable energy systems such as solar water heating. The scheme will run concurrent to an installer accreditation and training programme to expand the current installer base. The scheme is likely to be launched in the new year. In addition to this scheme, several electricity suppliers have been encouraged to offer grants as part of the energy efficiency commitment.
The Government are also working on a strategy of support for further research and development and market penetration through the technology status reports. The reports aim to identify where government can best assist the industry through funding for research, development and deployment.