UK green home energy efficiency programme to create £14 billion in private sector investment

UK energy secretary Chris Huhne (Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne), says the government's flagship Green Deal home energy efficiency programme would create £14 billion in private sector investment over the next decade.

The claim came as the UK department of energy and climate change (DECC) came out with a publication on the consultation on the Green Deal as part of Huhne's annual energy statement to parliament.

The energy secretary cited new analysis according to which the government's policies would mean average household energy bills would be £94 (or 7 per cent) lower by 2020 than they would be otherwise.

The Green Deal, is designed to help homeowners and businesses meet the upfront costs of energy efficiency improvements through long term loans paid through savings on energy bills, which could support 65,000 jobs in insulation and construction by 2015.

''The Green Deal is a massive business opportunity for firms up and down Britain,'' said Huhne in a statement. ''By stimulating billions of pounds of private sector investment, the Green Deal will revolutionise the way that we keep our homes warm, making them cosier, more efficient and all at no upfront cost.''

The programme wouldlbe launched in October next  year and stipulates a new requirement on energy companies to provide £1.3 billion a year to help the most vulnerable and those with hard-to-treat homes to enable them to take part in the Green Deal.