§ Sir Archy KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to promote greater use of solar heating panels in the UK. [169368]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Clear Skies initiative was launched in January 2003 in order to promote the uptake of a number of renewable technologies including solar heating panels. Grants are available to both individual householders and community groups in order to install solar heating panels. The initiative also has a list of registered installers and has developed a mentoring scheme in order to train future installers and increase the amount of companies able to install these technologies.
Further details of the initiative, including grant levels, can be found on the website at www.clear-skies.org.
The Scottish Executive has its own parallel scheme, The Scottish Community and Household Renewables Initiative, which also offers grants for the installation of solar heating panels. Further details can be found on the website www.est.co.uk/schri.
§ Sir Archy KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households in the UK she estimates use solar heating panels; and what her estimate is of use in five years' time. [169369]
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§ Mr. TimmsThe DTI does not keep a record of solar heating installations but according to figures from the Building Research Establishment it is estimated that there are approximately 60,000 solar heating systems installed in the UK.
At current installation rates of approximately 5,000 per year, there could potentially be a further 25,000 installations in five years time, assuming none of the current installations are removed.