The EIUG thinks that the key objectives of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) should continue to focus on deployment of technologies to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The fund leverages private investment that would not otherwise likely to be made as it supports business cases to reach final investment decision by improving investment criteria, accepting part of the investment risk and signals Government support for those investments.
The IETF Phase 1: first-stage process evaluation report provided recommendations to improve the IETF’s application process and providing feedback to applicants on obvious errors after they have submitted their application and time to correct any mistakes would be useful, if not already implemented. Furthermore, the Government guidance on grant funding might want to reflect the resources businesses need to allocate to submit an application instead of focusing only on the information Government requires for its assessment and assurances needs.
The EIUG advocate continued grant-funding to finance energy efficiency and decarbonisation of large energy users, particularly in light of its target to increase energy efficiency. Wider benefits that the IETF delivers are safeguarding the competitiveness of and decreasing the risk of carbon leakage for energy intensive industries.