Mar 23 - Datamonitor

A program offering grants for UK homeowners wanting to install microgeneration technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines has been suspended by the Department of Trade & Industry following unprecedented demand.

UK trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling commented that consumer demand for grants under the UK government's Low Carbon Building Programme has been exceptional, and thus has led to problems in meeting the demand.

The Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) has, therefore, decided to restructure the grants scheme, and to suspend it for the April allocation while this restructuring gets underway.

The reshaping is also designed to make the best use of the extra funding granted to the program as part of the recently announced 2007 budget. This additional funding will take the total available under the program to more than GBP18 million.

"It's important that this final additional funding for household renewables, due to end in mid 2008, is used to best effect to bring on a microgeneration sector that can stand on its own two feet without further subsidy," Mr Darling said.

DTI ministers will be meeting with industry representatives to discuss how best to operate the new scheme, and plan to announce their plans in May 2007.