20 years ago, the Micropower Council was created. It then expanded from an industry body focused on small-scale energy production to a core trade association championing all forms of sustainable heating and fabric efficiency solutions. Since 2014, that trade body is now better known as The Sustainable Energy Association (SEA).
With our co-founder Dave Sowden back at the helm, the SEA is stronger than ever. As we approach 20 years of innovative policy solutions and industry engagement, we are reflecting on our key successes.
The SEA’s Successes Since 2004
Energy Act 2004
The Micropower Council hit the ground running after its creation in 2004. We successfully amended legislation in 2004, placing a statutory duty on the Government to develop a microgeneration strategy. Successful lobbying from the Micropower Council set an early precedent that required the Government to promote the use and benefits of microgeneration. Our amendment also required the Government to publish the strategy within 18 months of the Energy Act being written into law.
This early legislative success set the conversation around the benefits of sustainable energy solutions. Our amendment also wrote into law the types of technologies that must be considered within the Government’s microgeneration strategy. The technologies within our amendment included biomass boilers, fuel cells, solar technology, geothermal solutions, micro-CHP solutions, and more. This crucial amendment helped us to leverage influence within the sustainable energy sector and paved a suitable pathway for promoting the SEA’s calls for a technology agnostic approach to heat and buildings policy.
Working with industry and government to reduce the cost of energy efficiency measures as early as 2005 is one of the SEA’s proudest achievements. The newly formed Micropower Council made significant strides in developing the case for more affordable energy saving and low carbon technologies, and lowering VAT rates for these solutions was one of its first acts.
Grant-funded installations for insulation, draught stripping, central heating system controls, and hot water system controls were subject to a reduced rate of 5% VAT from 1st July 1998. As the Government extended their grant funding programmes, we were instrumental in lobbying for expanding the eligibility criteria. Staying true to our technology agnostic beliefs, we helped to secure the reduced VAT rates for air and ground source heat pumps, micro-CHP units, solar PV systems and wood-fuelled boilers.
Our legacy in this space has continued. In 2023, we were delighted to receive the news that the Government was removing VAT entirely from installations of energy-saving materials until 2027. Eligibility for zero rate VAT was also expanded to include water source heat pumps, battery storage technology, and smart diverters.
Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006
The Climate Change and Sustainability Act is a landmark piece of legislation in the UK, one of the first of its kind to enhance the UK’s contribution to combatting climate change. The act stretched far across the sustainable energy sector, but focused on reducing fuel poverty, promoting microgeneration and heat from renewable sources, and reducing carbon emissions from buildings.
As part of the legislation, which the Micropower Council was at the forefront of developing, ministers began to set microgeneration targets, promote community energy projects, and began conversations around including these technologies in building regulations.
Planning and Energy Act 2008
The Micropower Council teamed up with the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) and then MP for Sevenoaks Sir Michael Fallon to promote legislation that would enable local authorities to include energy efficiency standards and requirements within local plans. The bill also allows local councils to set targets for on-site renewable energy generation and low carbon electricity use in their areas.
The passage of the Private Members Bill through Parliament and into law remains an important milestone for the SEA. Through our perseverance, proximity to industry colleagues, and insightful political analysis, our contribution to the sustainable energy policy landscape remains respected by policymakers and industry alike. We were also successful in promoting for the adoption of the ‘Merton Rule’, which requires new developments to generate at least 10% of their energy needs from on-site renewable energy production.
Boiler Plus (Formerly Known as Heating System Plus)
The UK Government made condensing boilers mandatory from April 2005, a landmark in domestic heating policy. It marked the first piece of major boiler legislation that raised standards and efficiency levels for domestic heating systems. However, after this change, boiler efficiency standards were then left untouched for more than 10 years.
The SEA’s Role
The SEA knew that it was best placed to spearhead improved standards across the sector. We leveraged our influence to bring together a diverse array of representatives from across the heating industry. We created the Heating System Plus policy proposal through a comprehensive strategy of engagement, dialogue and cooperation between industry and government. The aim of the policy was to create a progressive pathway to improving heating system efficiency, allowing time for key industry players to adapt while setting stringent boiler efficiency standards.
Our work on the development of the policy ensured widespread consensus for regulation changes across the industry, while aligning any proposals to the Clean Growth Strategy set out in 2017.
Our recommendations included:
- Setting a new minimum performance standard for domestic gas boilers in English homes at 92% ErP.
- Requiring all boiler installations to include an additional energy efficiency measure.
- Requiring return temperatures to be less than 55°C rather than “preferable” as was then stated in regulations.
Our efforts to develop the Boiler Plus policy quickly bore fruits. As a result of, higher standards are being driven within the heating manufacturing industry, impacting the efficiency of the 1.6 million boilers installed each year.
Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (dRHI)
The dRHI, now replaced by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), was the first government funded subsidy scheme driving uptake of renewable heating systems. The design of the scheme required significant collaboration across the industry to ensure heating system subsidies were accessible and attractive for consumers.
The SEA’s Role
The SEA brought together industry leaders in renewable heating technologies, including heat pump, biomass, and solar thermal manufacturers. Our strategic relationships with both Gemserv and MCS also meant that the most important voices in the heating industry were heard.
As a result, we were able to design a proposal that would increase low carbon heating installations, help to grow the supply chain, and attract installers to the industry. We were also able to utilise our routes into key government departments to provide important feedback on the design of the policy.
The SEA’s recommendations have also led to changes to the dRHI, including increasing the tariffs available for air source heat pumps. The initiative has left a lasting legacy. The dRHI has so far delivered 78,048 low carbon heating installations, and in one year alone saved 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, approximately 1% of the total UK carbon emissions.
Other policy initiatives
The SEA has been a proactive force across heat and buildings policy. On the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), we have been instrumental at voicing the concerns of our industry colleagues. We have advocated for less support for high carbon fossil fuel heating systems, and more support for a wider range of low carbon technologies, particularly for off grid areas. Additionally, we developed a white paper providing recommendations for a revised iteration of the ECO scheme, including calls for a multi-measure approach and a greater focus on low income and less efficient homes.
We have also been an active participant in discussions around improving building regulations, holding various governments to account on their promises to drive fuel bill savings in new and existing buildings. Our What’s Next for Heat and Buildings Policy report called on the Government to address the able to pay sector, increase both consumer and installer knowledge of low carbon heating systems and help to plug the skills gap. Since then, we have seen improved policies to help address our concerns, such as the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) and announcements on the Future Homes and Buildings Standard.
What’s Next
We’re focusing on some ground-breaking policy work into the new year. Firstly, we are already working hard on policy initiatives in the retrofit sector. This includes longer-term policy initiatives. A long-term, stable plan for the retrofit sector will ensure that the industry can attract investment and remove a reliance on policies that are wrapped up in the political cycle.
We are also being proactive in the heating space. We will continue lobbying for a firm date for the eventual phase out of fossil fuel replacement heating systems to set a clear direction for industry. We will also bring forward proposals for a “top-down” heat decarbonisation standard, advocating for a progressive tightening of standards for retrofitting heating systems, complimenting the bottom-up measures already in the pipeline.
The SEA represents a wealth of different technologies and solutions, and each and every one of them will be needed if we are to decarbonise our entire building stock. We will use 2025 as an opportunity to continue advocating for greater innovation support within the current policy landscape, cut red tape for getting their products to the market, and advocate for their support within current subsidy and support schemes.
“It’s been a great honour and privilege to return to leading the SEA, having been closely involved in its creation 20 years ago. We have seen many successes over the years. When we started, the incentives for energy efficiency were negligible and there was no real concept of microgeneration or political recognition that people can heat their homes sustainably. The policy framework to support this was virtually non-existent and disconnected from the importance of fabric energy efficiency. The non-domestic sector’s progress in advancing energy efficiency was equally lacking. While there remains a great deal to do, I am proud of the substantial progress that has been made in many aspects.
“Due to the progress we have made in advancing our policy objectives, businesses in the sector have been built, more green jobs have been created, and investors in the sector have succeeded. The SEA has been privileged to be supported by some incredibly talented and dynamic people over the years, many of whom have gone on to achieve considerable future success in their careers, and I am grateful to each and every one of them for their enthusiasm and support.
“The SEA’s approach of evidence-based thought leadership is an approach that has stood the test of time, and I look forward to continuing to help this fast-growing industry succeed as a key part of improving consumers’ lives, achieving economic success, and meeting net zero.”
“The Sustainable Energy Association is an excellent organisation that has had a significant impact on energy policy since its inception 20 years ago. I feel privileged to have been involved at the outset and to have later (2016 to 2020) been CEO.
“My first policy highlight was working on the successful campaign to reduce the rate of VAT on energy efficiency measures and low carbon technologies. Another achievement was working on the Boiler Plus policy which resulted in higher standards in the heating industry and improved the efficiency of boilers installed in our homes.
“In January 2020, whilst I was CEO of the SEA, I was awarded an Order of the British Empire Medal for services to Clean Growth and UK Energy Markets in the New Years’s Honours List. I feel this was testimony to the success of the Sustainable Energy Association and a reflection of the talented and hardworking people in the team.
“Success is about the people and the SEA has always had high quality people. It is great to see Dave Sowden back at the helm. I enjoyed many years working with Dave and wish him and the SEA every success in the future.”
“The SEA is a special trade association whos’ absolute strength is to bring together the many products, services and solutions available across our sector into a powerful collective narrative. I took immense pride in representing the dozens of different ideas, innovations, people and approaches that comprised our work with the Government and sector.
“This culminated in the publication and parliamentary launch of two reports on taking a ‘Technology Agnostic approach’ to heat and buildings policy—something I truly believe in and continue to advocate for to this day. Such was its resonance with policymakers and the sector that we influenced from ex-Welsh First Ministers to senior civil servants, and industry leaders alike.
“I was always delighted by the many varied faces and businesses the SEA would be able to collaborate with and invite to our events. This convening power and approachable nature was and will always continue to be the great strength of the SEA.”