The government appears to have seriously undermined one of its key climate change initiatives by toughening up the rules under which householders can obtain financial assistance to erect wind turbines and install solar panels.

A low carbon buildings programme started in April 2006 and due to end this summer, has seen only £7.5m of a potential pot of £18m claimed by private homeowners, it admitted yesterday.

Business and the public sector have managed to spend £18m since April 2006 - but there is still £44m of unclaimed grants under a separate, £50m programme that started in December 2006 and which is scheduled to end in the middle of 2009, the department of business, enterprise and regulatory reform (BERR), accepts.

Full article by Terry Macalister appears in Guardian Unlimited

Labels: funding, LCBP