As stated in the recently-published Energy White Paper, the Government are committed to promoting the use of renewable heat.
Many policies are already in place to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from heat including the climate change levy, tax incentives for combined heat and power, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and the energy efficiency commitment. Support has also been made available through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme and the Bioenergy Capital Grants Scheme.
DTI and DEFRA have commissioned a study by Ernst and Young into renewable heat and its potential to make significant carbon savings in the longer term. The study, which is in its final stages, will be published shortly.
The Government have also produced a Biomass Strategy and published it alongside the Energy White Paper. The Biomass Strategy identifies biomass heating as the most cost efficient use for energy and provides a framework for the development of biomass.
It is essential to consider the heat sector holistically and the Government are carrying out further work over the coming months into policy options that could further reduce the carbon impact of heat and its use in order to determine a strategy for heat.