Microgeneration potential disputed

The government has come under pressure to axe its commitment to making all new homes zero carbon by 2016.

Describing the plan as "deluded", the strategic policy advisor of the House Builders Association (HBA) Roger Humber said the government had not been aware of what it was letting itself in for when it made the pledge.

He said that on the current definitions of zero carbon it the amount of on-site renewable energy generation required would be "impossible to supply on most sites" and called for more off-site power generation.

However, an independent report has taken a very different view, arguing that allowing more off-site generation would prevent any major increase of the level of home renewable energy generation devices being taken up by homeowners.

It has said that such devices could save 70 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030, the Herald reports.

Those seeking to ensure their own homes generate electricity using such devices may wish to self build a home which incorporates them.