Onzo

Onzo today dismisses “as a missed opportunity” Chancellor Alistair Darling’s plans for a £2 billion green investment bank to fund low-carbon environmental projects.

Joel Hagan, the Chief Executive of Onzo, said:

“Enormous investment is required to tackle climate change and convert to a low carbon economy. However, by only investing in large environmental projects such as off-shore wind farms, the Government is missing out on a major opportunity for the UK plc to benefit from British companies’ innovation skills.

“It is crucial that the bank considers smaller scale investments as well as the huge ones needed for major infrastructure projects such as generation. The UK has, after all, traditionally been strong in innovation but we have already lost leadership in some sectors to other countries. “

Alistair Darling used today’s budget statement to announce the creation of a green investment bank which will control £2bn of equity. The money will help companies to invest in green transport and sustainable energy, starting with offshore wind turbines.

Half of this fund’s equity will come from the sale of existing state assets, such as the channel tunnel rail link, and the other half will come from private investors.

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NOTES TO EDITORS
1) Press enquiries
Emily Feltham, emily.feltham@yourmandate.com, +44 (0)20 3128 8122 or +44(0)7782 481 818
Nicole Martin, nicole.martin@yourmandate.com, +44 (0)20 3128 8172 or +44 (0)7768 695 087

2) Onzo
Onzo provides utility companies with customer intelligence solutions. Those solutions enable utilities to achieve their business objectives and meet regulatory requirements: attracting and retaining customers, shifting usage off peak, improving energy efficiency, improving customer satisfaction, reducing the cost to serve, and increasing non-core revenue. Onzo’s solutions include hardware and software that can increase the amount of valuable data that is gathered, process data to maximise its value to the utility, and increase the number and effectiveness of the utility’s consumer touchpoints.

In response to plans announced by the Government today to offer consumers “green loans” to fund the installation of loft and cavity wall insulation, solar panels and other energy-saving measures, Joel Hagan, the Chief Executive of Onzo, said:

“We welcome the Government’s ambition to change fundamentally the way that people use energy in their homes. We hope that the roll-out of the Government’s plans is accompanied by an increased commitment to making available to consumers a wider range of information through a greater number of channels to engage them and help them reduce energy consumption, saving on their bills and reducing carbon emissions.

“In particular we are pleased that the Government has accepted Onzo’s argument that loans that attach to a property rather than an individual, which are already being used in America, are a key enabler.”

The green loans scheme, announced by Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, aims to overcome the financial barriers and upfront costs people face when trying to make their homes green.

With around a quarter of UK emissions coming from energy used in homes the Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy is aimed at cutting emissions from the UK’s homes by 29% by 2020.

The strategy will be implemented in three stages:

- To insulate 6 million homes by the end of 2011

- To have insulated all practical lofts and cavity walls by 2015

- To have offered up to 7 million eco upgrades by 2020

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NOTES TO EDITORS

1. DECC Green Loans scheme