The UK Government has launched phase one of its plan to help communities become more self-sufficient in heat and power, with a focus on sustainable energy in local energy economies.
UK Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said that the Microgeneration Strategy will help communities become more self sufficient and bring energy costs down for consumers.
“People and communities can save money on their fuel bills at the same time as generating an income and cutting carbon,” Barker said.
The focus of the Microgeneration Strategy will be on electricity generation technologies of less than 50kW and heat generating technologies of less than 300kW.
The range will include air, ground and water source heat pumps, solar photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal water heating, biomass boilers, micro combined heat and power (micro CHP) and micro wind turbines
The strategy aims to ensure the quality of equipment used under the project while trialing new technologies for the UK. It also hopes to aid the development of a microgeneration supply chain.
The UK Government is also looking to repeal a previous ban on councils selling green electricity into the national grid.
The Government intends to publish the final Microgeneration Strategy in early 2011.
