22 Sep 2010 11:09:02
Green Deal 'will support 250,000 jobs'
Some 250,000 jobs could be supported by the government's Green Deal, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has claimed.
The scheme is designed to allow homeowners and businesses to make energy-efficient improvements without the upfront cost and without having to own the property.
Some 26 million UK homes are expected to benefit from the initiative over the next 20 years and the DECC claims that the scheme, which was outlined in the coalition's programme for government, will support a quarter of a million jobs.
Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy and climate change, said that the Green Deal was part of the "third industrial revolution".
"Insulation installers and the supply chain all stand to benefit from this long overdue energy makeover... We need to tap in to this huge market to save people money on fuel bills, save carbon and help the economic recovery," he added.
The Green Deal is expected to be available by late 2012.
