Feb 28 2006
Northern Ireland is to offer grants of up to 50 per cent for households wishing to install alternative energy technology.
Stressing the importance of curbing greenhouse gas emissions, secretary of state Peter Hain announced the creation of a ý59 million fund that would offer grants for homes through the Environment and Renewable Energy Fund.
Householders could get assistance to convert to solar, biomass, wind or geothermal power.
Mr Hain also announced a revision of building standards in Northern Ireland that would encourage the use of alternative energy sources, including ý6 million aimed at funding schemes to generate energy from waste.
A target has been set to raise the amount of energy produced in Northern Ireland by renewables from three per cent at present to 12 per cent by 2012. Stressing the need to address the problem of climate change, Mr Hain said: "We are facing two potentially catastrophic scenarios: a threat to our security of energy supply, and even more dangerous, global warming ý which has seen the ten warmest years on record since 1990 and which threatens the future of our planet." He continued: "We must take action now to reduce the amount of energy we use and to reduce the levels of harmful emissions to help protect the environment." It was also announced that parts of the Stormont estate would begin using renewable heat, provided by willow pellets supplied by local farmers.