Green grants will come to end in 2008 says DTI

Posted: 07 Mar 2007 09:45:45 GMT

Financial aid for homeowners who install energy efficiency measures could be scrapped after the end of next year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has said

Financial aid for homeowners who install energy efficiency measures could be scrapped after the end of next year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has said.

A spokesman said that homeowners should be expected to accept more of the financial burden as the costs of domestic generation come down.

"Householder funding will cease in summer 2008," he told Reuters, saying that the government would not release more cash after the current funding is spent.

The success of the homeowner grant scheme has surprised the government, which faced the money allocated to last until 2008 running out more than a year early.

Having switched to apportioning money month-by-month, recent allocations of cash have been claimed within hours of becoming available as homeowners queue for the grants.

"The government is failing to match public enthusiasm for the technologies," said Friends of the Earth campaigner Dave Timms.

"We think that the current grants that are available are frankly embarrassing."

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