A large majority of these households are located in rural areas, which are off the natural gas grid, and in older building stock. Switching to an electric heat pump system is often not logistically viable or is prohibitively expensive, leaving homeowners with limited alternative options to decarbonise.
A wider suite of options is therefore urgently required to accelerate the decarbonisation of homes by 2030. Both lower carbon LPG, bioLPG and renewable and recycled carbon DME can and are playing a key role in helping rural homes meet their energy needs, while lowering carbon emissions. A ‘mixed technology’ approach that embraces lower carbon and renewable fuels can plug the gap in the current ‘one size fits all’ policy, and offer a just transition in line with our 2050 net zero targets.
