It’s been a successful two years for the Future Ready Fuel campaign and we’ve made significant progress in our ambition to secure a renewable liquid fuel solution for oil heated homes.
A new Labour government has been elected which brings new opportunities to build the policy support we need to rollout HVO more widely. The mood music is positive but there is still more to do so we must continue our work at pace. So, as Parliament reconvenes and MPs return to Westminster, here’s the current state of play and our plans for the coming months.
The current state of play
The previous Conservative government pushed back its proposed ban on the installation of new fossil fuel boilers off the gas grid to 2035 after pressure from backbench MPs and rural communities. The previous deadline of 2026 was abandoned as it became increasingly clear it was undeliverable. Whilst the rollout of heat pumps has continued, it‘s been well short of the government’s target, due to a lack of consumer interest and a shortage of heat pump installers.
Whilst heat pumps can be a sensible choice for some properties, the reality is many off-grid buildings are older, of non-standard designs and poorly insulated. The cost of upgrading them for a heat pump to work effectively can be over £20,000, according to the government’s own heat pump calculator. Not to mention the disruption this would cause.
Surveys we ran showed that over 80% of rural households instead wanted the option of switching to a renewable liquid fuel. We demonstrated the use of HVO in around 150 properties over a two year period and the project was overwhelmingly successful. Oil heated homes were able to run the renewable liquid fuel after a minor modification to the boiler which is expected to cost less than £500. The fuel reduced emissions by 88% which is a significant carbon saving.
What the Labour Party has been saying
During the election campaign, the Labour Party committed to scrapping this 2035 target to ban the installation of new gas boilers altogether. They said they didn’t want to ‘force’ homes to ‘rip out’ their boilers. This is perhaps a sign that the Party doesn’t want to risk repeating the mistakes of the previous government by attempting to force the rollout of heat pumps on consumers and remove the crucial element of choice.
The Labour government has been clear that achieving net zero and delivering on the UK’s climate targets is a key policy objective. However, the Party has also emphasised that this must be delivered in an affordable way which doesn’t burden the Treasury or consumers. We share this view which is both pragmatic and realistic in the current economic climate.
The policy landscape across the UK
It’s a similar picture in Scotland and Wales, which published their own decarbonisation strategies. Scotland prioritised heat pumps and committed to phase out the installation of fossil fuel boilers off grid from 2025. However, this was similarly rolled back on when the challenges become clear. There has also been changes in First Minister and policy direction. In March 2024, the Climate Change Committee stated Scotland’s climate goals were no longer credible due to ‘delays’ and ‘slippage’ in policies. This means, like England, the road ahead is still uncertain.
The Welsh government went further, saying that heat pumps will need to be installed in the vast majority of homes. However, it’s unclear when or if the installation of fossil fuel boilers will be banned as the government recognised the switch was still ‘beyond the means of many’. In Northern Ireland, off grid properties are still waiting for an energy strategy to be published.
Next steps for the Future Ready Fuel campaign
So far, we’ve haven’t heard many specific energy policy announcements from the new government but we are still very early into this new administration. We have written to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband and been engaging with newly elected MPs. The mood music has been positive and there is a genuine interest in affordable low carbon solutions.
We will also be hosting an event at the Labour Party conference to continue to raise awareness and build support for renewable liquid fuels.
Over the coming months we will be reaching out to Future Ready Fuel supporters to help us continue to build the case for HVO.
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