Lenders Could Halt Green Deal

The Government is working very hard and very quickly to make sure that the Green Deal covers as many areas as possible, and that it's implemented as soon as is viable. Effort which I have to applaud, which isn't often said by me about this Government.

But there is one huge underlying factor which could derail the whole project. The Green Deal relies on lenders providing the money for loans to go towards home improvements. And by lenders we mean the private sector. By private sector we mean banks and the biggest energy providers. And herein lies the problem. Banks aren't lending nowhere near enough for small and medium size businesses to function properly. So why does the Government think that they are going to willingly stump up the extra cash for these home improvement loans? Especially as they are going to take an age to be repaid as they are counting on the energy savings made as the form of repayment.

The Government is also relying on the big 6 energy companies to pump some money into the idea. But we all know how energy companies are, very quick to take your money, extremely slow to give anything back.

The Government wishes to implement the Green Deal in October 2012. But the way the crisis in Europe is panning out, and how our own economy is quickly grinding to a messy halt, banks don't look set to increase their lending by anywhere near enough for quite some time. 

So, the question I pose is this: what is plan B for the Green Deal if private investment fails?