In the Spring Budget, the Government announced a two-year extension to the current Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme, with precise terms now out for consultation.

Eligible businesses that sign a CCA receive a discount to the Climate Change Levy (CCL), the tax added to electricity and fuel bills, in return for reducing their energy use and carbon emissions in line with agreed targets.

Discounts represent considerable savings and are currently 92% for electricity, 81% for natural gas, and 77% for LPG.

New targets will be put in place from January 2021, allowing the extension of the scheme beyond its current March 2023 end date to March 2025. In addition, the scheme will be open to new eligible businesses for the first time since October 2018. Government is also considering the potential for a future scheme beyond March 2025.

So, if you are not already part of the CCA scheme, now is a good time to consider joining to gain access to those vital CCL discounts while becoming more energy-efficient and cutting carbon emissions. The deadline for new applications to the Environment Agency (EA) is 30 October 2020.

The NFU is the trade association responsible for the horticulture, pig and poultry CCA schemes. NFU Energy administers the schemes for the NFU and provides expert help and guidance to members of the scheme. There is an initial registration fee to set up your CCA plus an annual membership fee to cover ongoing advice, administration and support, including the collection and processing of data, returns to the EA.

We currently represent some 700 farm and nursery businesses. To join them, give the team a call on 024 7669 6512, we will need to receive your application no later than 15 October 2020 in order to allow enough time to process it on your behalf.