Renewable energy will not be responsible for a major increase in fuel bills; it was announced in a report from the Committee on Climate Change. By 2020 it’s expected household energy bills will rise by a further £190 every year.
And according to the report, future energy efficiency and renewable energy bills will account for just £110 of this. In fact, this rise could be cut to £25 is homeowners replaced inefficient appliances and insulated their lofts and wall cavities.
This report was conducted after staggering claims that household bills could hit £3,000 by 2020, as opposed to £1,060 in 2010. Of course, by installing renewable energy products such as solar panels and heat pumps, you’d be completely avoiding these price hikes as you’ll be generating your own energy.
Despite the initial installation costs, you’d soon make up the deficit with savings on your annual energy bills. Renewable energy products are also eligible for the Feed-in tariff scheme, which pays for every unit of electricity generated. And with the government’s flagship scheme, the Green Deal, ready to hit the UK next year, homes will have the opportunity to insulate and become more energy efficient.
David Kennedy, chief executive of the CCC, said: “There have been claims that there will be astronomical bill rises in the next decade due to low-carbon policies. Our analysis disproves this. We want to demystify this issue and have an honest debate based on facts not assertions.”
The renewable energy costs added to energy bills comes from the large-scale projects scattered around the country. Invisible taxes are put onto bills to help pay for wind farms and other renewable sites.
Between 2004 and 2010, gas and electricity prices increased £455, with renewable energy subsides contributing just £75.
Mr Kennedy said: “It will be very expensive to solve the problem [of cutting carbon emissions] later. We could ignore the issue and build gas plants, but then we will end up with lots of power stations we will have to scrap.”