Poll: public back clean hydrogen…but not a levy on bills

As the Government’s Energy Bill is set to be debated again next week in Parliament, new YouGov polling [1] for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found that just a fifth of people (21%) think levies on energy bills should pay for converting the existing gas grid to support hydrogen for home heating. Just one in eight (12%) think levies should support the industrial hydrogen sector.

This compares to half (50%) of people believing levies should support renewable energy projects. Early renewable projects are currently supported by levies, although new wind and solar farms now do not require subsidy. More than a third (36%) of people back levies paying for insulation for low-income households. Less than one in five (18%) said there shouldn’t be a levy on bills.

The polling also found that around three quarters (74%) of people would support the government investing in hydrogen infrastructure in the UK. Renewable energy and clean technology is viewed as the number one sector for creating long-term growth for the UK economy. Nearly half (47%) of people picked this sector compared to around one in five for manufacturing (27%) and financial services (24%). Renewable energy and clean technology is the top sector for both Conservative (41%) and Labour (56%) voters in the 2019 election.

The Government recently announced it would drop the proposal of a £120 annual levy on domestic energy bills to cover the cost of producing hydrogen [2]. When asked if people would support a levy of approximately £100 on the average household energy bill to pay for hydrogen energy infrastructure, around a third (36%) said they would support it, but more (43%) would oppose it. The Energy Bill is expected to set out how the UK’s hydrogen industry can be supported

Electric heat pumps have a typical efficiency of around 300%, where every one unit of energy in produces three units of heat. Gas and ‘hydrogen ready’ boilers have an efficiency of around 90% [3], so produce less than one unit of heat for every unit of energy in. Gas and hydrogen boilers also produce air pollution, such as nitrous oxides (NOx) and can be responsible for a fifth of air pollution in some urban areas [4].

According to research, the current gas grid may require upgrades, such as ensuring that pipelines do not allow hydrogen molecules, which are much smaller than natural gas molecules to escape, to run off hydrogen [5]. Households would also need to change appliances, including ‘hydrogen-ready’ gas boilers which would need to be adapted in situ. It has been reported that households would need to drill a 4-inch hole in the ceiling to ensure that hydrogen in the home is safe to use [6].

A recent study has found that 37 indpendent studies have now concluded that there will be no significant role for hydrogen in heating homes [7].