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Welsh government injects further £10m into social housing decarbonisation programme
The Welsh government has given a further £10m to a major new programme aimed at retrofitting more than 1,000 social homes across the country to make them more energy efficient.
The new money means it has now given £20m to the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP), which will bring together housing associations and councils on projects that will upgrade at least 1,000 homes through a mixture of new energy-efficient materials and technologies.
Some of the projects include the installation of new heat pumps, intelligent energy systems and solar panels. Off-gas-grid properties, which are often difficult and expensive to heat, will also be a major focus of the programme.
The measures will also include opportunities for local supply chains, with Welsh SMEs encouraged to get involved.
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One project looking to secure funding is a consortium of 26 social landlords, who will work together to improve the energy efficiency of their stock but also test the way heat and energy are produced, stored and supplied. To secure support through the ORP, landlords were invited to apply for funding up to £500,000 for research and innovation projects.
The £20m scheme is part of a wider aim by the Welsh government to decarbonise 1.4 million Welsh homes by 2020, a programme that could create 15,000 new jobs. Research has shown that every £1.4m spent on delivering domestic energy efficiency will create 32.6 jobs.
Julie James, housing and local government minister for Wales, said: “Our goal as a government is to deliver a more prosperous, equal and greener Wales. These values remain as valid today as they did before the pandemic.
“We see the Optimised Retrofit Programme as just one part of our plans for a green recovery, creating a low-carbon economy for Wales, reducing fuel poverty and tackling the climate emergency.
“It’s about much more than just a one-off scheme. This is an approach that could create a sustainable, long-term retrofit industry that supports thousands of local jobs and training opportunities as we act to meet our 2050 carbon targets.”
