• REA express disappointment that the already delayed Heat and Building Strategy could be delayed further;
• The delay to publish the document, originally due last year, has seen the renewable heat sector’s routes to market limited and the sector stall when we need to be intensifying our efforts to decarbonise heat;
• REA’s ‘Strategy for Net Zero’ set the ambition for renewable and low carbon heat to be the dominant form of heat by 2035, with the UK’s heat demand to be entirely met by renewable energy and clean technology solutions by 2050.

The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA) have stated their disappointment that the long-awaited Heat and Buildings Strategy is set be delayed further, with publication pushed back to the Autumn.

REA has stressed that the sector cannot afford any more delays and that the government must urgently address the large policy gap for industrial and commercial heat decarbonisation that has been left after the closure of the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (ND RHI) in March.

The wait for the Heat and Buildings Strategy has meant that the renewable heat sector’s routes to market have been limited, causing the sector to stall at a crucial moment in the UK’s heat decarbonisation efforts.

The REA reiterates its call for a multi-technology approach, with biomethane, clean hydrogen, biomass, heat pumps, deep geothermal and other low carbon heat technologies all forming a key pillar of the REA’s ‘Strategy for Net Zero’, published earlier this year. Successful heat decarbonisation will dependent on ensuring the installation of the right renewable heat technology in the right situation.

Dr Nina Skorupska CBE, CEO of Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), said: “A further delay to the publication of the much-needed Heat and Buildings Strategy would be hugely disappointing.

“Without the government’s long-awaited strategy, we are seeing routes to market limited for the renewable heat sector and deployment stalling at a crucial moment in the UK’s heat decarbonisation efforts.

“The REA’s ‘Strategy for Net Zero’ set the ambition for renewable and low carbon heat to be the dominant form of heat by 2035. The sector needs a clear and co-ordinated policy framework if we are to deliver this target.

“If the government is serious about decarbonising heat and meeting their Net Zero ambitions, they cannot afford to keep delaying such crucial support for our industry.”

—ENDS—

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Notes to editors:

About the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA):

The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (known as the REA) is the UK’s largest trade association for renewable energy and clean technologies with around 550 members operating across heat, transport, power and the Circular Economy. The REA is a not-for-profit organisation representing fourteen sectors, ranging from biogas and renewable fuels to solar and electric vehicle charging. Membership ranges from major multinationals to sole traders.

For more information, visit: www.r-e-a.net