Richard today supported his colleague, George Eustice's Ten Minute Rule Bill which seeks a reduction in the level of duty charged on renewable liquid heating fuel and also other changes to make this a more viable source of heating for people who live off the energy grid. In a rural constituency, this is an important issue as many properties use energy which is "off grid", do not have access to a gas supply and rely on alternative means for heating their homes,
Bills such as this are an opportunity for MPs to raise an issue and seek Government support. In this case, the Government has an Energy Bill passing through Parliament and Richard is keen to see the Government accept this Ten Minute Rule Bill as part of that process.
Many of the 1.7 million homes in the UK which are off grid rely on kerosene heating. Responding after the debate, Richard Fuller MP said:
"I was pleased to be present to support this Bill today. In order to ensure that net zero goals are met, the Government will require innovative solutions to support everybody to make changes, including those whose energy is off grid and this Bill provides one such solution. From 2026, the installation of replacement boilers will be banned in off-grid properties and households in many constituencies will have to rely on air or ground source heat pumps. Their installation can be expensive and in my view, we must explore other options including renewable liquid heating fuel.
We know that the technology exists to adapt existing boilers to run not on kerosene but on hydrotreated vegetable oil, a renewable fuel derived from waste and that making the change is relatively straightforward and much less expensive than other options. We have seen for some time now the use of renewable fuels in transport and if we can make that switch to home heating, it could provide an alternative and cheaper option for many people who live in rural constituencies.
I was pleased to be able to support this Bill which will provide a mechanism to enable the use of renewable fuels in domestic boilers. Importantly, it would remove the current duties from these renewable fuels so that there is a source of renewable energy which it is easy to make the switch to, does not have the same installation cost as heat pumps and can achieve parity with kerosene. The Minister for Energy listened to the introduction of the Bill and I will certainly be pressing the Government to take this Bill forward and make these changes."
