New Build Heat Standard (amended) 2024: island communities impact assessment

1. Proposal and background

1.1. The New Build Heat Standard (NBHS), introduced through standard 6.11 of the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023, came into force on 1 April 2024. It requires that new buildings are constructed without use of direct emissions heating (DEH) systems. An exception is made for ‘emergency heating’. DEH systems are defined in the regulations as those which produce emissions at the point of use and include bioenergy as well as fossil fuels systems. In policy development, “polluting heating systems” has been used as a shorthand for DEH.

1.2. On 28 May 2024 the Minister for Climate Action announced in Parliament that a review of the NBHS would commence shortly in response to concerns on the restriction on use of wood burning stoves and bioenergy, particularly in rural and island communities. This was in recognition that it was difficult to reconcile the emergency heating provision, as currently written, with the nature of wood burning stoves, which are often installed for more frequent use rather than solely as emergency systems. It also recognises the concerns received, through some limited feedback, on the wider use of bioenergy as part of the NBHS. The review was conducted May – October 2024 and involved revisiting previous consultation responses with a specific focus on bioenergy, developing updated options to address concerns, and conducting engagement on these via workshops, individual stakeholder meetings and two Ministerial roundtables to identify a suitable way forward. In addition, stakeholders were encouraged to submit further evidence to the NBHS mailbox by mid-August 2024.

1.3. To ensure concerns are addressed promptly, and ahead of any regulatory amendment, Scottish Ministers issued a Direction under section 3 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 which came in force on 19 September 2024. This temporarily permits the use of DEH systems which are fuelled by bioenergy or peat in new homes, addressing concerns on the use of wood burning stoves and bioenergy while the current review of the Standard was being finalised.