Written question asked by William Bain (Labour) on Monday, 28 February 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 March 2011. It was answered by Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative) on Friday, 4 March 2011 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Biochar

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the policy of his Department is on the inclusion of biochar in its energy efficiency scheme.

Answer: Green Deal finance will only support measures that can be expected to pay for themselves in energy bill savings over their lifetime and within the period of the finance arrangement. Based on this principle, it appears that biochar would be unlikely to attract Green Deal finance.We will shortly launch a Call for Evidence from industry and other stakeholders on the costs and performance of a wide range of measures to determine what they can deliver in terms of energy savings.

Secondary information