Question reference: S5W-08676
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 5 April 2017
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Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 18 April 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has undertaken of maximising solar energy capture in new housing developments to assess the potential (a) financial benefits to homeowners and (b) wider economic and societal benefits.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not carried out the modelling specifically referred to in the question, however, European Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings required:
“For new buildings with a total useful floor area over 1000 m², Member States shall ensure that the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of alternative systems such as:
- decentralised energy supply systems based on renewable energy,
- combined heat and power,
- district or block heating or cooling, if available,
- heat pumps, under certain conditions,
is considered and is taken into account before construction starts.”
A similar requirement is maintained with the current recast Directive (2010/31/EU).
In order for Scotland to meet these requirements for new buildings (including new housing), research was carried out in 2005 by the Building Research Establishment, which recommended the approach for low and zero carbon technologies (of which solar is one) to be considered and recognised through building regulations. The subsequent report ‘Low and Zero Carbon Technologies in the Scottish Building Standards’ is no longer available on the Scottish Government website, however a copy is available upon request from officials in the Building Standards Division.