Businesses are to get £10 million in funding in order to help them save money on the costs of energy, the government has announced. The funding will also be extended to industry and other organisations.
The government says the money will help to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy demand. On the same day, it was also announced that the government would be making it easier for firms to invest in energy infrastructure.
Speaking at the CBI’s Energy Conference, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said that £45 billion had been invested into the energy sector over the last three years, with more than £8 billion being invested into renewable forms of power generation in 2013.
The government says that funding helps to tackle the “legacy” of underinvestment into the power generation industry in the UK, which could have left the United Kingdom without power, had it continued.
Speaking at the Conference, Ed Davey said:
“Our plan is powering growth and jobs in the UK economy. We are building a secure, sustainable energy system for the future, dealing with an historic legacy of underinvestment and neglect that threatened to undermine the whole economy.
“The funds we invest now in keeping the lights on could, in the future, be available to support cheaper projects that deliver lasting reductions in peak electricity demand.
“…and by stripping away barriers to investment in our energy market, we’ll make attracting capital investment cheaper and easier – meaning real benefits for the British economy and British consumers.”
As part of the Electricity Demand Reduction, companies will compete for a share of £10 million; a total of £20 million has been made available for the full pilot. In order to be able to compete, businesses will need to have a project that will help to reduce the cost of power generation.
Companies can begin bidding for a share of the money from July 29, 2014. To qualify, the projects must save businesses money on their energy bills, as well as offer lower carbon emissions and reduce demand on the National Grid. The government says that increasing energy efficiency could create less of a need for new power stations.
Numerous organisations, including hospitals, supermarkets and airports have already announced that they will be competing for a share of the money. Moreover, the government wants to hear from anyone that offers projects that could save at least 100 kilowatts during peak periods such as winter time.