The Welsh Government has pledged £150m in funding for insulation, clean energy, and carbon reduction in the country’s social homes.

Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters, explained how the government’s Optimised Retrofit Programme will assess what technologies work best in individual homes to ensure optimum energy efficiency, value for money, and top environmental credentials.

The government says the programme will lead to homes becoming so well insulated that heat will no longer wastefully escape.

The £150m package will also be used for the installation of smart technologies so tenants can best control their energy use, and to install a mix of clean technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels, and battery storage.

Housing is one of Wales’ biggest emitters, accounting for 9% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier this year, the government announced a ban on fossil fuels to heat newly built social homes, with ambitions for the private sector to follow suit by 2025.

It has also committed to building 20,000 low-carbon social homes for rent over the next five years.

Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters, said: “Today I’m announcing an extra £150m to improve the energy efficiency of existing social homes in Wales through our Optimised Retrofit Programme.

“This investment will not only reduce emissions, but will cut the energy bills of the people who live in them.

“And we are already trialling heat pumps, intelligent energy systems and solar panels with battery storage.

“We are taking a whole homes approach, which assesses what will work best in individual homes. The programme will see homes become so well insulated that heat would no longer wastefully escape.

“Today’s announcement will help thousands more families be warm in their homes and support a just transition towards decarbonisation.”