Government timetable slip means fossil fuels will trump renewable energy, says CLA

The CLA has today (Wednesday, 25 February) reacted with shock and disappointment to the news that the incentive for renewable heat is to be delayed by a year.

In a written answer to a Parliamentary Question put by Gregory Barker MP, Mike O’Brien MP, Energy Minister responded on 23 February that government expects the new support mechanism to be in place by April 2011.

CLA President Henry Aubrey-Fletcher said: "We accept there are some difficult questions to resolve, and statutory processes to be undertaken, but further delay is simply unacceptable. CLA advisors have discussed a work plan with the Department of Energy and Climate Change that could fully deliver the incentive a year earlier than the Minister aspires to.

"Boiler manufacturers inform us they instal one and a half million fossil fuelled boilers every year, and they are designed to last between 15 and 20 years. This effectively puts increasing numbers of householders and businesses beyond the reach of a solar thermal panel or wood-fuelled boiler."

The CLA President added: "We understand the question revolves around the resources and manpower in delivering the incentive. Climate change and energy security cannot wait, and until renewable heat is properly incentivised it will be trumped by fossil fuels, locking us into an unsustainable future. We urge all who care to write to Mr O’Brien to demand he brings forward the date for delivery."

CLA MEDIA CONTACTS:

For further information and interviews:

Phillippa Coates, Press Officer, 020 7460 7934, phillippa.coates@cla.org.uk

Oliver Wilson, Director of Communications, 020 7460 7936 or 07702 928828, ollie.wilson@cla.org.uk,

Out of hours: 020 7201 9511.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has a 36,000-strong membership.

2. As a membership organisation, the CLA supports landowners by advising them on how best to protect and maximise their asset: the land. We are dedicated to supporting landowners and our success is measured by how effectively we do that.

We have a team of experts in London and a regional structure able to give local support. We have been looking after the interests of our members, as well as promoting the positive aspects of land ownership and land management, for the past 100 years.

CLA members own or manage approximately half the rural land in England and Wales, and the resulting expertise puts us in a unique position to formulate policies and lobby effectively.

3. For more information about the CLA, visit: www.cla.org.uk