£600 Million Approved For UK’s ‘Green Deal’ Energy Efficiency Program

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£600 million of public support for the UK’s ‘Green Deal’ energy efficiency program was recently approved by the European Union.

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The Green Deal is a program designed to make investing in energy efficiency improvements, such as insulation, lighting, draught-proofing, hot water efficiency, modern boilers, etc, more affordable for homeowners. The loans are then repaid through energy bills, and transfer with the property, rather than the person who took out the loan.

“The UK Green Deal allows consumers and businesses to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings without making huge upfront investments,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement.

This type of policy is known as Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing in the US (despite the name, it has also been used for energy efficiency projects here).

The EU Commission works as a regulator for the members of the European Union, deciding matters to do with state aid and competition. According to the commission, the program is a well designed effort to improve efficiency in the UK.

Source: Reuters
Image Credits: Houses via Wikimedia Commons

Nathan (359 Posts)

For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity. - Ecclesiastes 3:19


  • Otis11

    Out of curiosity are there any substantial arguments against the PACE program? From where I sit it all looks relatively positive.

    I ask because knowing the shortcomings can not only help us create better solutions in the future, but also help us establish that the benefits are more substantial than the costs, so feel free to answer with both costs and the benefits that out-weight them! Thanks!

    “Property-Assed Clean Energy” => “Property-Assessed Clean Energy”

    • http://zacharyshahan.com/ Zachary Shahan

      To be honest, I’ve never seen any.

      • Otis11

        I know Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans were heavily against it, but that’s just because it cut into their potential profits if homes foreclosed… Didn’t really have a solid arguement – granted they do have a few points, but nothing that can’t be worked with.