Chamber and committees

First, that particular measure has to be seen in the context of the wider changes. Some of your witnesses in the earlier session talked about decarbonising and moving to electric sources and whether all that is happening at the same time as the installation of electric vehicle charging points and other changes that are going to be necessary if we are to reach our carbon emission targets. The way in which we produce, store and consume energy is changing, and inevitably that will have an impact on the grid.

The fact is that the decisions on such investment are made by Ofgem, which will look at the number of heat pumps, EV charging points and so on that will be required. As well as the direct numbers that it provides, however, it has also set out what is called an uncertainty mechanism, which allows developers to say, “We need more capacity here” and allows distribution network operators to be part of that process.

We believe that there will be enough capacity for the changes that we are bringing in. We also know that, in certain areas, retrofitting might be more problematic than new build—indeed, some witnesses acknowledged as much in the previous session—but we are already bringing together a wide range of organisations, including the DNOs in Scotland, in a working group that shares those perspectives. It will not only work out how we resolve some of the issues that exist within Scottish Government powers but set out how we can make the case for any changes that might be required at UK level. Claire Jones might be able to say more about some of the more technical aspects, but there is no getting away from the fact that reaching our net zero targets is not just about how we build things but about the redesign of our energy system more generally.

The other thing that I would connect to the work that we are doing here is demand reduction. The most effective way in which we can reduce the extra load on the grid is to build really energy-efficient homes and buildings in the first place. If we are going to electrify heat, everything that we do to reduce heat demand will also reduce electrical draw.

We have a high-level estimate of the total cost of decarbonising heating in Scotland. It is clear that that cannot be met from public funds alone. We want to make sure that it is affordable for householders, communities and business and that will include using a blend of public support, as well as financial products, with a role for private investment and the energy industry, too. More detail will be set out as we move forward to consult on the heat in buildings strategy later this year.

I am not entirely sure what Edward Mountain is referring to as “the public housing stock” and whether he is talking about council housing or social housing. We have a substantial social housing net zero heat fund, which he is aware of. We work with local authorities as well as housing associations and other social housing providers. In fact, this is part of the wider heat in buildings programme, and the overall high-level costs that I referred to earlier have been published and put into the public domain.

Our approach to reducing emissions from buildings is technology-neutral. However, we know that heat pumps are a proven technology and that they work efficiently when they are designed and installed correctly alongside the appropriate energy efficiency measures. Many rural households have already made the transition, and colder countries, such as Norway and Finland, that have large rural populations, are also far ahead of us in this.

However, we recognise that bioenergy might be the best option for a small number of buildings. We already provide an extra £1,500 on top of the £7,500 Home Energy Scotland heating and energy efficiency grants to cover the higher costs in rural areas. We have also recently announced an uplift for rural and remote areas in relation to the social housing net zero heat fund.

We engage actively with both Star Refrigeration, which is showing the jobs potential for manufacturing in relation to the decarbonisation of heat, and the Queens Quay development. I hope that all members will encourage local authorities, public bodies and housing associations to access the support for heat networks that I referred to earlier.

The issues around the affordability of electricity supply come back to the regulatory power that currently sits at UK level. If we are to decouple gas and electricity prices, we need the UK Government to act. That would enable us to pass on the benefit of the cheap, abundant, clean and green renewable electricity that is being generated in this country to benefit bill payers.

We will publish our annual update on progress against our heat and buildings strategy by the end of October. The update will include a summary of progress on our support schemes. The Scottish Government offers a range of support to households, including our warmer homes Scotland and area-based schemes, as well as the home energy Scotland grant and loan scheme, which is open to all domestic households in Scotland and provides the most generous grants in the United Kingdom for zero-direct-emissions heating systems.

A range of factors influenced the uptake of voluntary demand-led schemes during Covid and in the wake of the cost of living crisis and the spike in energy prices. We need to take account of all those factors, including skills and capacity across the supply chain. Our supply chain delivery programme is working with industry to address those issues, and they will also be addressed in the consultation that we will carry out later this year.

More than 1 million homes must convert to zero-emissions heating by 2030 if we are to meet Parliament’s interim climate targets. We have developed regulations to deliver that in all new buildings. We have also introduced a new Home Energy Scotland grant, and shortly we will relaunch the warmer homes Scotland programme. As I mentioned in response to an earlier question, we will also be consulting soon on proposals for a heat in buildings bill.

Willie Coffey is absolutely right on the issue of public awareness. The public engagement strategy for Scotland will be led by the new heat and energy efficiency Scotland agency.

It is also vital that the UK Government publishes firm plans to rebalance fuel prices. That is necessary to ensure that climate-friendly heating systems are cheaper to run than fossil fuel systems. We are pressing the UK Government for more urgent action to enable delivery in Scotland, to address market disincentives to switching to zero-emission heat, and to accelerate decision making on the potential role of hydrogen. We have clear ambitions to decarbonise buildings faster and we offer significantly more support for heat pumps and other zero-emission heating systems than other parts of the UK, but we cannot afford to delay taking action and the UK Government needs to match that ambition.

I and a number of other ministers have visited that particular company and been impressed by its work. I am pleased to hear that there is cross-party support for that and recognition of the important role that heat storage and electrical storage will play in the future of a decarbonised and renewable energy grid. Martin Whitfield is quite right that it will also have an important role to play in the jobs benefit that will come from the decarbonisation of heat. We believe that many thousands of jobs and high-quality careers are to be had from that programme of work, which will benefit communities the length and breadth of the country.