Green deal may boost jobs

01-10-2010

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has suggested that the Government’s new 'Green Deal' initiative could support a quarter of a million jobs over the next 20 years – many of them in the construction industry.

The Green Deal is designed improve the energy efficiency of homes and small businesses. The upfront finance will be attached to the building’s energy meter and repayments will be less than the energy savings achieved, so theoretically participants could start saving from day one. The scheme is expected to be available from 2012.

Commenting on the figures, Huhne said: "The Green Deal is a massive new business opportunity which has the potential to support up to a quarter of a million jobs as part of our third industrial revolution. Energy efficiency is a no brainer. We need to tap into this huge market to save people money on fuel bills, save carbon and help the economic recovery."