Mark McManus, Stiebel Eltron UK’s managing director, has responded to the Scottish government’s announcement that it is preparing legislation to ban the installation of gas boilers in new buildings in Scotland.
This could be introduced as early as Spring 2024 in a bid to drive Britain towards net zero, it was stated.
Mark said: “First we saw Germany announce its decision to ban fossil fuel boilers, and now the Scottish government is following suit as it prepares its own regulation to push the market towards renewable heating systems.
“The inevitability is that Germany and Scotland, if successful with its proposed legislation, will be followed by more countries as they look to bring green initiatives to the fore. However, we are not seeing the same ambition from the English government.
“Since the government announced in 2020 that it aimed to see 600,000 heat pumps installed per year by 2028, there has been little action with no clear roadmap to see it come to fruition. If the government is serious about galvanising the UK heat pump market in a bid to realise its green ambitions, it must bring forward realistic measures which will truly mark a shift towards renewable heating systems such as heat pumps.
“Key to the transition towards heat pumps will be ensuring a wealth of highly-qualified engineers who are equipped with the expertise to install them. At Stiebel Eltron this is a core focus of ours, having invested heavily in our training facilities in a bid to produce the next generation of installers who will supercharge the industry in the years to come.”