Zero-carbon homes shock as national grid energy barred

Government says off-site sources ‘not eligible unless directly connected to the development’

In a surprise move this week the government revealed that homes using renewable energy provided through the national grid will not qualify as zero-carbon.

In long-awaited guidance on the government’s Code for Sustainable Homes, published on Monday, the communities department caught the housebuilding industry unawares by decreeing that off-site renewable sources of energy such as windfarms “would not be eligible unless directly connected to the development concerned”.

It was previously expected that developments would be able to purchase green power from some of the large offshore and remote windfarms being constructed in the UK.

Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, said: “The ambition for all new homes to be zero-carbon by 2016 is a challenging one. We need to work closely with housebuilders and the green technology industry.”

Chris Watts, director of sustainable construction and technology at consultant Beyond Green, said: “Does it matter where the energy is produced as long as it is renewable? There are some developers who really want to do the right thing and this just makes it an impossible task.”
By Olivia Boyd


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