The Welsh Assembly Government's Response to the Economic Development Committee's Report on Energy Efficiency Programme

I would like to start by thanking the Economic Development Committee for such a comprehensive and useful report.

I am happy to report that work has already begun in many of the areas that the EDC highlighted.  Many of the recommendations involve cross cutting issues and my written statement released on the Internet last week gives more detail.  Time will only permit me to briefly comment on each of the 13 recommendations.

Many of the actions being undertaken by the Welsh Assembly Government support UK policy which is the first recommendation of the committee. This is also demonstrated by the work that key organisations are already undertaking in Wales.  To illustrate this, the  Fuel Poverty Commitment for Wales aims to improve energy efficiency through the Assembly Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Scheme. The purpose of this scheme is to reduce the number of households experiencing fuel poverty, assess the condition of social housing stock and implement a programme for repair and improvement.

To assist the CHP strategy under recommendation 2, the  Assembly Government  with the Energy Saving Trust and Carbon Trust Wales are promoting the £50m Community Energy Programme. This is a two year UK Government funded programme which offers information, advice and grant funding to support the installation of new heating schemes or the refurbishment and expansion of existing community heating schemes including CHP across the UK.

Recommendation 3 emphasises that the Welsh Assembly Government should promote the work of Carbon Trust Wales and Energy Savings Trust.  In the domestic sector, Energy Savings Trust is a partner organisation in delivering our Fuel Poverty Commitment for Wales. In the non-domestic sector, Carbon Trust Wales sponsored by the  Assembly Government  have made excellent progress with work under the Action Energy banner.

Recommendation 4 suggests that the Welsh Assembly Government adopts it’s own building certification scheme. There are existing standards that can be applied to buildings and we must be wary of causing confusion or duplication. The  Assembly Government  is engaged in a study looking at the possibility that all new social housing grant funded homes, have an ECOHomes assessment. This would provide a useful measurement of sustainability and could be used to encourage higher energy efficiency in housing.

In response to the recommendation for a mechanism to monitor and report the promotion of energy efficiency in Wales, recommendation 5, an Energy Conservation Plan is currently being drafted. This will focus attention on co-ordinating delivery and communication. In addition, our Energy Team is working on our implementation plans to help deliver the aims of the UK Energy White Paper.

In recommendation 6 the report advocates that the new Assembly building, should be an exemplar of best practice in energy efficiency.  I’m happy to report that the current building design meets criteria for BREEAM standard of “excellent” in regard to best practice in environmental design and management. These measures should provide running cost savings of between 30-50%.

Recommendation 7 proposes additional resources should be deployed to support local energy efficiency initiatives. The  Assembly  Government is looking to encourage energy efficiency measures such as the “Solar Water In Social Housing” projects, designed to fund bids from Registered Social Landlords. This scheme will help develop a sustainable model for implementing solar water heating within the social housing sector, for both new build and existing housing.

It is also suggested that greater use is made of Objective 1 funding. The European Structural Fund Programmes have an environmental strategy that includes opportunities to promote energy efficiency. There are several examples of successful projects using these funds, some of which are detailed my written statement. However,  we should endeavour to maximise our opportunities and encourage the continued submission of quality projects within this measure.

The EDC recommends that the Welsh Assembly Government  use its procurement policy to support energy efficiency products (recommendation 8).  I can report that this is being addressed. A partnership of Assembly Government Divisions and Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies including the WDA and the Welsh Health Estates have produced best practice guidance on construction procurement. This is additional to guidelines being drawn for public sector procurement by the Welsh Procurement Initiative Team.

Recommendations 9 and 10 may be combined. The report states that the  Assembly Government should use its influence to encourage all public sector buildings to aim for high standards of energy efficiency, and, that it should promote CHP.  Present activities include a joint pilot project between Gwent NHS Trust and Carbon Trust Wales. This project, aimed at producing a generic set of energy saving initiatives that can be applied to NHS properties throughout Wales, has reached the first stage of completion.

The EDC report recommends that all households are encouraged to engage in energy efficiency practices (recommendation 11). The Energy Efficiency Commitment places an onus on energy companies to assist with this objective.  The Treasury is consulting on possible use of fiscal measures to encourage greater uptake of energy efficiency.

Recommendation 12 states that Welsh Assembly Government should work with others to raise the profile of the Home Energy Conservation Act. The  Assembly Government  together with the Energy Saving Trust and Welsh Local Government Association have established a post tasked with raising corporate awareness of the issue. In addition the Welsh Local Government Association launched a consultation exercise on guidance for local authorities to develop energy polices across their domestic and non-domestic building stock.

The final recommendation, number 13, is that the  Assembly Government should ensure economic opportunities are recognised including the need for training.  This is acknowledged. We are therefore keen to encourage activities like the Bridgend housing stock transfer training employment pilot. This scheme is designed to facilitate the up-skilling of local people which will include energy efficiency practices.

I have briefly touched upon a range of measures either in place or being developed which help to address the committee’s recommendations. However, it is essential that we continue to build upon the progress we have already made.