London starts green housing initiative

The British government announced a bidding process to help improve social housing developments' access to more renewable energy resources. Starting Monday, registered providers of social housing in the United Kingdom are invited to solicit for up to $285,000 for a plan to install solar hot water panels, heat pumps and biomass boilers. The deal, which totals about $4.9 million in government funding, is part of an effort to encourage use of alternative energy resources. "Improving and greening Britain's homes must make strong financial sense if we are to provide a real sustainable alternative to expensive old heating systems," Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said in a statement. "If people choose to go green, they want to see real savings." Half of the carbon emissions in the country are attributed to energy used to generate heat. The housing program directly targets British citizens who struggle to pay winter heating bills. The bidding deadline is Sept. 15.