Regional development agency, Yorkshire Forward, has welcomed the announcement that the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is providing an additional £500,000 of funding for the Community Energy Solutions project which aims to reduce fuel poverty across the region.

Community Energy Solutions was established two years ago. They are working with 25 communities that currently do not have access to mains gas supplies in urban and rural areas. The aim is to connect homes to supplies at little or no cost to the household. Where that isn't possible, they are offered a renewable energy solution - locally manufactured ground source heat pumps.

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Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Forward, said: "Community Energy Solutions has been a real success story, and this additional funding will enable us to extend the programme, providing cost effective heating for households that have no access to mainstream supplies."

Speaking at the Micropower Council's Annual Conference, Malcolm Wicks, Minister of State for Energy, also commented: "Low Income households, often without access to mains gas, are those that can most benefit from microgen technologies and we hope that this pilot will increase the number of installations in those houses.

"It will help us to better understand the role that microgeneration technologies for space heating can play in helping the fuel poor, building on the wider support that is already available."

By the end of March 2009, Community Energy Solutions will have connected 2,800 households and saved 15,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

(JM)