MPs to hear plan to get rural households to run heating on vegetable oil

The Guardian reports that a proposal to incentivise households in rural areas to run their heating systems on vegetable oil is to be put to parliament

The former environment secretary, George Eustice, will introduce a bill proposing the removal of duties on renewable liquid heating fuels and incentives to replace kerosene in existing boilers.

It is estimated there are 1.7m UK households in rural communities using kerosene boilers.

Under government plans, homes with “off-grid” gas connections will be banned from buying replacement boilers from 2026 and instead expected to install air source or ground source heat pump systems.

But Eustice, the Conservative MP for Camborne and Redruth, will on Wednesday argue in parliament that the costs involved in installing heat pumps in older rural properties present a “huge barrier”.

Instead, Eustice said, kerosene oil boilers can run on “hydro-treated vegetable oil” (HVO) with a “minor adaptation” and reduce related greenhouse gas emissions by 88%.

Full article:

The Guardian - MPs to hear plan to get rural households to run heating on vegetable oil