
The UK Government scrapped the Zero
Carbon Homes (ZCH) policy in summer
2015. However, the UK must still comply
with the EU’s Energy Performance of
Buildings Directive,
3
which requires that
by 2020 all new buildings in member
states are ‘nearly zero energy’. The UK’s
2012 ‘National Plan’ to meet this directive
relied heavily upon the ZCH policy, as did
our national planning policy. The recent
decision of the UK to leave the EU has
created even further uncertainty about
which, if any, EU climate and energy targets
the UK will comply with.
The financial viability of
renewables
Despite this challenging policy
environment, the long-term financial