Wales is ‘not there yet’ on use as best practice trials Heat pump continue
LLANELLI MS Lee Waters, the Welsh Government’s Deputy Climate Change Minister, has expressed his concern that not enough is being done to support climate-friendly heat pumps in homes in Wales.
Mr Waters criticised the UK Government for its plans to offer a £5,000 grant for heat pumps to replace gas boilers, saying it wasn’t enough.
He said Welsh Government was “experimenting” with different plans for retrofitting homes to ensure whatever came after gas boilers was effective.
He did however admit that comments made by his more senior colleague, Climate Change Minister Julie James, that all homes should have replaced their gas boilers by 2030 were some way off.
“We’re not there yet is the honest answer. The technology and the skills to implement the technology isn’t there at scale yet. For example, we don’t build, manufacture, heat pumps. We know the direction of travel we want to get in,” he said.
Last week, Welsh Government published the list of things they want to see happen to take Wales net zero by 2050.
Mr Waters opened yesterday’s Welsh Government press conference with a reference to the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow.
“The most important climate talks for years have just begun,” he said. “The First Minister . . . is meeting with world leaders and experts to discuss how Wales, one of the leaders in the industrial revolution, can play our part reducing the impact of manmade climate change. His message is the power of collective action. Smaller countries can achieve great things when everyone works together.
“My colleague Julie James and I will also be making the long journey to Glasgow this week to continue these discussions. I look forward to working with, and learning from, others. I’ll be taking a clear message that, here in Wales, we are ready to play our part.”
Mr Waters said Welsh Goverment’s plans included -
Helping schools with their own power generation
All new school and college buildings will have net zero targets
Reusable PPE in the NHS Hospitals using less polluting anaesthetic gas
Mr Waters told the press conference: “We are also taking immediate action to make our homes more energy efficient.
“The 20,000 new homes for rent that we are committed to building over the next five years will be built to high environmental standards which means they can be kept warm without the use of fossil fuels.
“Today I’m announcing an extra £150m to improve the energy efficiency of existing social homes in Wales through our Optimised Retrofit Programme. This investment will not only reduce emissions, but will cut the energy bills of the people who live in them.
“We are already trialling heat pumps, intelligent energy systems and solar panels with battery storage.”
Mr Waters said that Welsh businesses will have a part to play.
He said: “Successful bids for the new funding will need to demonstrate how they have adopted a Welsh First approach when establishing or growing supply chains. We expect to see Welsh timber being used in retrofitting work – timber that not only absorbs carbon as it grows, but displaces carbon-intensive concrete in houses. We want to see applications which boost green workforce skills and make the most of carbon free materials.”
The deputy minister added: “Our overall investment in the climate and nature emergencies will be more than a quarter of a billion pounds in this Senedd term. Our full budget, to be announced in December, will speed up the delivery of our net zero targets in a number of ways, including by investing in community-owned renewable energy projects, making good our promise to generate a national forest for Wales that everyone can enjoy, and supporting businesses to adapt to a greener future through our Circular Economy fund.”
Mr Waters said improving homes was important. He added: “We are experimenting because every home in Wales is different. We know that a £5,000 grant is nowhere near enough for a heat pump that will cost around
We’re not there yet is the honest answer. The technology and the skills to implement the technology isn’t there at scale yet. For example, we don’t build, manufacture, heat pumps. We know the direction of travel we want to get in Llanelli MS Lee Waters
£20,000 to fit.
“We want to get something that works. We are trialling, first of all, different apporaches in our houses to rent. Unless you have a home that is properly insulated, all you do by putting in a ground source heat pump, is the energy just escapes from the house.
“We want to look at the whole home, and to look at the quality of the fabric, the insulation and technology. It is better that we do it right, we trial, we learn, we experiment. We don’t have figures for the full roll-out costs because we don’t know what the final solutions look like.”
Questioned about the commitment to move away from gas boilers by 2030, Mr Waters said: “We have to have good insulation and make sure the energy isn’t leaking out and putting in the best heat source for that house is obviously part of that. We don’t have any solid announcement to make on that yet, it’s part of our plan to get to, but we are feeling our way to get there.”