An amendment to the New Build Heat Standard (NBHS) was laid in Scottish Parliament on Friday 8th November that will allow bioenergy systems, including wood burning stoves, to be installed in all new homes and buildings and in existing buildings that are being converted.
This sets in motion the pathway for the Direction to amend the NBHS, announced in September this year, to become law on the 1st January 2025.
The amendment addresses the significant concerns raised by the Stove Industry Association on behalf of its members and the wider industry, and the thousands of households, particularly in rural and island communities, that rely on their wood burning stoves for heat and security.
Commenting on Friday’s announcement, Andy Hill, chair of the Stove Industry Association, said: “We are delighted that common sense has prevailed and that wood burning stoves remain available as a choice for all households across Scotland seeking a net zero carbon, sustainable and renewable way to heat their homes utilising a fuel source that is both abundant and local.”
A key tenet of the Stove Industry Association’s campaigning on behalf of its members and homeowners in Scotland was that in effectively banning the installation of wood burning stoves in new build properties and renovations, the NBHS went against its own principles of reducing carbon from domestic heating.
In a business and regulatory impact assessment published on 8th November the Scottish government acknowledged that:
“While combustion of biomass does physically produce CO2 emissions at the point of use, these emissions are balanced out against CO2 that was absorbed from the atmosphere when the biomass feedstock grew. As a result, for the purposes of reporting on emissions, and in line with international carbon accounting practice, the Scottish Government considers the combustion of biomass to produce net zero CO2 emissions at the point of use.”
Andy Hill added: “Wood burning at home is a fundamental part of homes and family life across the country. Its use offers the reassurance of energy grid independence and protection against fluctuating gas and electricity process. The acknowledgment that biomass is carbon neutral at the point of use is vital to facilitating a pathway to net zero in Scotland.”