The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee published a Government response on 18 May 2022 confirming that the British Energy Security Strategy announced a doubling of funding for the Green Home Finance Accelerator, from £10 million to £20 million1. The response was received on 23 April 2022 and addresses the Committee's Seventh Report of Session 2021-22, Decarbonising heat in homes, published on 3 February 20221.
The Accelerator sits alongside other funding streams set out in the response. The 2021 Spending Review confirmed £450 million for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme over three years from 2022 to 2025, supporting the Government's ambition of 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 20281. The Government also stated it will run a Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition in 2022 worth up to £30 million1.
On skills, the response notes that industry has capacity to upskill over 7,000 heating installers per year to install heat pumps1. The Heat Pump Association launched an upskilling course for existing heating engineers in August 2021 which can be completed in under a week1. Octopus Energy is investing £10 million in a new training centre in Slough, and Ideal Energy announced a £1 million training centre near Hull due to open in Spring 20221.
The response also covers consumer protection and bill support. Ofgem will take on the role of heat networks regulator, with the BEIS Secretary of State given powers to introduce a price cap to that market in future1. From October 2022 the Energy Bills Support Scheme will reduce all domestic electricity customers' bills by £200, recouped through energy bills over five years from 2023/241. The Chancellor announced a £9.1 billion package of support for over 28 million households with rising energy bills1.
"The recent British Energy Security Strategy announced a doubling of funding for the Accelerator from £10 million to £20 million"
The response does not state how the additional £10 million will be allocated, which households or lenders will benefit, or when applications will open. Those details have not been reported1.
Why it matters for households
The Green Home Finance Accelerator is intended to support the development of finance products that help households pay for energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements. Doubling its funding from £10 million to £20 million increases the pot available for that work, though the response gives no detail on what products will result or when they might reach the market1.
For a household considering home energy grants and schemes, the practical picture in this response is one of several parallel funding routes rather than a single new consumer grant. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides capital grants for heat pump installation, while the Accelerator works upstream on finance products. The response also confirms the Government's aim that, by 2030, low carbon heating systems are no more expensive to buy and run than existing natural gas systems1.
Energy independence at home rests on reducing the amount of gas a property consumes for heat. The measures described here, including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Future Homes Standard, are aimed at that transition, but the response sets out no change to the timetable for phasing out natural gas boiler installations from 20351.
What happens next
The response states that the uplift in energy efficiency standards comes into force in June 2022, with new homes expected to produce around 30 per cent less CO2 emissions than under the previous 2013 standards1. A full consultation on the Future Homes Standard is intended for 2023, with legislation in 2024 ahead of full implementation in 20251. Critical trials of hydrogen for heat at neighbourhood and village scale will take place in 2023 and 2025 respectively, with strategic decisions on the role of hydrogen in heating due by 20261. No date has been given for the opening of the expanded Accelerator funding1.