New energy minister Mike O’Brien pledges an extra £8.5m in grants for renewable energy projects.
The government has pledged a further £6m of grants for solar PV energy projects. The grants cover 40-50% of the costs of solar electric installations in housing, education and commercial buildings.
The extra funding will extend the DTI Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme until the summer of 2005 when the government is expected to announce a new grants programme. The extra cash will bring the take total funding for solar projects under the programme to £31m.
The recently appointed energy minister Mike O’Brien said: “Nearly 5,000 projects have been offered grant support to date. Today’s extra funding will help many more projects get off the drawing board and become a reality.”
The additional grants should provide new projects with 40-50% of the costs of solar electric installations.
O’Brien also announced an extra £2.5m of funding for a renewable energy initiative that provides grants for communities, homeowners and small communities. Under the clear skies programme these groups can apply for grants that will contribute up to 50% of the capital costs of a variety of renewable technologies.
The total funding for the Clear Skies now stands at £12.5m and will allow the iniative to run for another year.
