Could it be finally happening? Is the Green Deal finally starting to crumble away into the abyss? Well it certainly looks like it to me. The Green Deal Finance Company, the business providing the whole of the funding keeping Green Deal alive has warned that it is running out of cash and struggling to find more to keep itself going. What’s more, the country’s biggest Green Deal installers are on the brink of administration as the business struggles with mounting debt and a drying up of cash from the Green Deal Finance Company. You can read more about this story by clicking here.
Doomed from the start
The situation above unfortunately isn’t a single case but one that is being repeated up and down the country. The business model for the Green Deal was never a sound one. It was way too complicated and the government’s own research was ignored before the scheme was launched. What made the situation worse was the closure of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund a couple of months ago. That sudden closure and lack of vital funding for promised contracts has meant sudden dire cash flow problems for many Green Deal installation companies.
To put it simply, without regular and reliable cash from the very start of the funding system, Green Deal will collapse.
Permanent damage caused?
My worry is that the Green Deal is causing massive damage the the industries connected to the scheme. Think about all those existing businesses who invested in becoming Green Deal installers expecting an increase in business. Instead they have had to put up with a poorly thought through idea, with very little public awareness and a funding system with more holes in it than a British A road.
My worry is that thanks to the severe funding issues, it may be putting many established, good businesses on the brink of going under. This is a concern widely reported by Green Deal installation companies and also the comments from one installation company to me via private message on Twitter.
The problems caused by this scheme are causing massive damage and it needs to be reversed. Alternatively, the government could look at reducing VAT on energy saving measures and make this whole thing a lot simpler.
If there is a silver lining to all of this it’s that the window industry hasn’t really got involved in a big way. It’s exposure to the Green Deal is minimal so any damage caused by it should be minimal too.
The government has just re injected £100 million worth of funding into the Green Deal. This could just be the start not the end.
From what I know this will come in in Novemeber. But what about all those companies who were hit months ago when the fund suddenly shut, leaving thousands of promised funded works up in the air? I fear for some the damage may have come to early to be repaired.