UK government provides additional

LONDON, England, 2004-09-22 (Refocus Weekly)

The UK government will provide another £8.5 million to encourage schools, homes and commercial buildings to install solar PV and small-scale renewable energy systems.

The money brings total funding for solar projects under the government’s PV program to £31 million and will enable another three funding rounds to take place in the next fiscal year.

“In future, energy generation will often be small-scale and local,” says energy minister Mike O'Brien. “Initiatives such as these help to deliver the message that, as well as being responsible for energy consumption, we can play a part in producing it as well.”

Almost 5,000 projects have received grants under the £20 million first phase of the Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme announced in March 2002. Prior to the launch, the government funded the Domestic & Large-Scale PV Field Trials with £8.9 million to develop 500 solar-powered homes and 12 solar-powered public buildings. In February 2004, another £5 million was provided to the PV MDP, boosting the total budget to £25 million.

O'Brien also says communities, not-for-profit groups and homes will benefit from new funding to extend the Clear Skies initiative for a further year, bringing that total finding to £12.5 million. Clear Skies grants are available for a variety of renewable technologies where communities can obtain 50% of capital costs to a maximum of £100,00 towards capital costs.

That fund was established with £10 million in support, and the initiative is run by the Building Research establishment.

The two initiatives will continue in their current format until March 2006, by which time the government expects to have developed a low-carbon buildings program that will supersede these two initiatives. The Energy White Paper in February 2003, increased funding for renewable energy projects to £350 million over four years.

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