The Powering Net Zero Group aims to retrofit Homes with equipment like heat pumps and additional insulation
A coalition of businesses has launched a venture to fund the free decarbonisation of British homes using carbon credits. The Powering Net Zero (PNZ) Group aims to deliver “a renewable closed-loop ecosystem” to finance the climate transition of the housing sector, in what claims to be a global first-of-its-kind.
The PNZ Group brings together three businesses with years of expertise in the net zero sector – Arctica Partners, Arete Zero Carbon, and Dynamis Associates. Under the scheme, houses will be retrofitted with equipment like heat pumps and additional insulation, financed by corporate buyers looking to fund local projects which deliver benefits in their areas.
Carbon credits, generated from the emissions reductions produced by the retrofit activity, will be sold on the Voluntary Carbon Market – with funds generated from the sales channelled back to fund additional retrofit work. These locally generated credits will help increase transparency and accountability in the Voluntary Carbon Market, so buyers can see the genuine benefits in real time, in their own communities.
Part of the income from every credit sold by PNZ Group will go back into its proprietary power purchase agreement (PPA), which will fund the installation of solar PV and battery systems in households that could otherwise not afford it. The system is installed free of charge, and the cost of consumed energy generated is always below the National Grid price cap.
By purchasing credits from the scheme, buyers help to extend PPAs to more of the country’s fuel poor households. PNZ claims this self-sustaining approach creates a virtuous circle that powers real action on net zero. “In order to meet our ambitious legally binding net zero targets, it’s vital to tackle the significant challenge posed by our carbon-intensive housing,” said Martin Smith, CEO of PNZ Group. “PNZ Group has developed a ground-breaking and first-of-its-kind solution to deliver transformative retrofit activity, without costing the government, or households, a penny. We’re proud to formalise our partnership today through the creation of the PNZ Group to continue delivering outstanding retrofit activity to change lives all over the UK.”
Last year, an initial pilot called Retrofit Credits was run in association with the Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (Hact) and saw 22 housing associations across the UK receive the first tranche of over £7m in funding from the sale of our carbon credits to be reinvested back into their retrofit work.
“We have been working with Arctica Partners on the Retrofit Credits initiative since the beginning of 2022,” said Andrew van Doorn, CEO of HACT. “As Arctica Partners becomes part of PNZ Group, we are excited by what our partnership will bring and the impact we can create expanding the Retrofit Credits service, so that the scale and speed of the decarbonisation of UK housing stock can be accelerated, helping to deliver on the UK’s net zero ambitions and commitments.”
