Carbon Neutral Roadmap boilers targets and costs (FOI)

Request

Page 114 of Appendix 2 to the Carbon Neutral Roadmap, agreed by the States Assembly on 29 April 2022, states that –

1. There is a target of switching c16,000 domestic boilers to a low carbon option by 2030.
2. There is a target of switching 1,700 boilers in commercial buildings to a low carbon option by 2023.

Please advise –

A

What actions have been taken to achieve these targets and what is the anticipated impact of each of these actions?

B

What is the anticipated cost to the public and to businesses of achieving these targets?

Response

Please note, the Carbon Neutral Roadmap targets are switching c.16,000 domestic boilers and c.1,700 non-domestic boilers to a low carbon option by 2030.

A

The Carbon Neutral Roadmap includes two key policies to contribute to the delivery of these targets – the Low Carbon Heating Incentive and the proposed ban on the installation of new oil and gas boilers from 2026.

The low carbon heating incentive was launched in May 2023, after a successful pilot scheme. This provides property owners with up to £5,000 match funding towards swapping out a fossil-fuel powered heating system, to a low carbon alternative such as an electric flow boiler or air source heat pump.  £10,000 of funding, without the need to match fund, is available for those who meet the low-income eligibility criteria. The cost to the householder over and above the incentive, will depend on the individual property characteristics and chosen heating type.

The scheme is currently open to domestic properties that are owner-occupied.  The intention is to expand the scheme to landlord-owned properties and non-domestic properties later in the year.

There is a target of 1000 heating system switches by the end of 2025 under the Low Carbon Heating Incentive scheme. A total of £5,706,000 is available to fund this scheme. The Carbon Neutral Roadmap policies are funded by the Climate Emergency Fund. 

After the first full month of operation at the end of June 2023, 32 applications had been approved under the scheme. Swapping these heating systems for lower carbon alternatives will have significantly reduced their carbon outputs due to Jersey’s electricity supply being low carbon.  Emissions modelling carried out in development of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap estimates that 5,100 tCO2e will be saved annually by 2026 due to incentivised domestic boiler switches. 

The low carbon heating incentive aims to provide financial support to those wishing to make the switch to lower carbon heating ahead of the upcoming ban on installation of new fossil fuel boilers, due to come into force by 2026. Under this proposed legislation there will be a gradual replacement of fossil fuel boilers across the building stock as they come to the end of their lives.

B

The estimated costs of decarbonising the heating sector in Jersey were presented in the Carbon Neutral Strategy and the Oxera Report, which have been published on www.gov.je  and can be accessed via the link below: 

An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of different Net Zero targets for Jersey.pdf (gov.je)

As this information is publicly available, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Article applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.