The government just announced plans to support new gas power stations! This is completely unnecessary, and would be really harmful for the climate - and our energy bills.
Powering heat pumps with local wind and solar would reduce the climate impact of our heating by up to 90%, and help tackle fuel poverty. Yet the current setup forces households to rely on expensive, dirty gas from fossil fuel giants.
By shifting its energy policies, the government could help end our dependence on gas, slash carbon emissions, and cut heating bills by almost a third.
Will you send our report to your MP and ask them to take action for cleaner, cheaper home heating?
Dear Members of Parliament,
I'm one of your constituents, and I'm getting in touch because I'm really concerned about the lack of action from the government to speed up getting our homes off dirty, expensive gas and onto clean, affordable energy and heating.
In fact, from what I can see in the plans laid out on March 12th, it seems the government is set on doing the exact opposite! Supporting new gas power stations is unnecessary and will be disastrous for our climate goals.
As I'm sure you know, we're getting dangerously close to 1.5 degrees of warming, while people across the UK - and in your constituency - are living in cold, damp homes, which they can't afford to heat due to the high cost of gas.
There is a solution to these serious problems. New research by climate charity Possible and energy experts Regen has looked at using local wind energy to power heat pumps. Their new report finds that local wind power could cut the costs of heating homes with heat pumps, making them a quarter cheaper to run than a gas boiler, or nearly a third cheaper if solar power and batteries are used too. This would also cut emissions from home heating by up to 90%. (You can read the full report at www.wearepossible.org/our-reports/wind-powered-heat). The evidence is clear that powering clean home heating with local renewable energy would cut energy bills and slash emissions. And of course, local clean energy and heat projects also support communities, bringing in jobs and investment.
I'd much rather heat my home with heat pumps powered by a local wind project, than be reliant on expensive, polluting gas! But government policies are standing in the way of this cheaper, cleaner model for home heating.
Communities that want to cut their bills and help tackle the climate crisis, by developing their own local energy and heat projects, face a number of serious policy barriers. These include:
- The way that policy costs are charged mainly on consumers' energy bills, rather than on gas, making it harder to get off gas.
- New onshore wind projects are still virtually impossible in England, due to ongoing planning barriers.
- Not enough access to support and low-cost finance for community energy and heat projects.
To tackle this, the government needs to:
- Reform the electricity market so that bill payers can benefit from the lower costs of renewable energy.
- Remove the remaining planning barriers for new onshore wind, particularly for community projects.
- Provide access to grant funding and low-cost finance for community energy and heat projects.
Please could you write to the Minister at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on my behalf, to share the report findings and explain that your constituents would like to see more action from the government to clean up our heat and energy, protect the climate, and cut our energy bills using community energy? I would really appreciate it if you could raise this important issue with the government for me.
Thanks very much,
[Name]
