Select Committee to explore UK heat pump plans
20th November 2020
UK: The Environmental Audit Committee is to explore the challenges presented by the UK’s government’s plan for heat pumps in a live session next week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s £12bn ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, announced this week, brought forward the ban on gas boilers for new homes to 2023 and introduced a new target to install 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028.
This part of the plan will now be the subject of an Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) evidence session on November 25.
The EAC launched the inquiry last month as part of its work considering how technological innovations could tackle the effects of climate change. Despite its potential to play a major role decarbonising heat, the EAC sees limitations rolling out the technology. The challenges include that of cost, as they are more expensive than conventional options such as gas-fired boilers.
During this evidence session, the EAC will be exploring the role of heat pumps in decarbonising heat, ways to increase uptake and how to overcome some of the challenges such as the installation cost and public acceptance.
This remote participation session will include input from Emma Pinchbeck (CEO, Energy UK), Dr Jan Rosenow, (director of European programmes, The Regulatory Assistance Project), Randolph Brazier, (head of innovation & development, Energy Networks Association) and Dr Howard Porter (CEO, BEAMA).
This live session can be accessed here from 14.30 on November 25.
