On June 18, industry leaders will unite at the The Hilton Puckrup Hotel near Tewkesbury to discuss the progress made and next steps towards securing a sustainable future for the off-grid sector.

OFTEC chief executive Paul Rose will update members and guests on the importance of taking action to support the decarbonisation of rural homes, and the liquid fuel heating industry’s central role in achieving this.

OFTEC will be joined by Jason Woods, founding partner of energy consultancy group In Perpetuum Partners, who will share the findings of the six-month research project they have now completed for OFTEC.

This project investigated the potential of liquid biofuels, providing detailed analysis of the oil-heated housing stock and including modelling which compared the rival low carbon energy solutions for these homes.

Technical director at Kiwa UK Group, Mark Crowther, who has provided guidance to the Committee on Climate Change, will also share an insight into the role hydrogen could play in decarbonising the heat and transport sectors.

At the AGM that follows the conference, Laurance Coey, managing director at Harlequin Manufacturing, will be appointed as the new OFTEC chairman as Niall Fay steps down from the role following his two-year tenure.

Mr Rose said: “This year’s conference comes at an important time as the issue of climate change continues to dominate the political and public agenda and the urgent need to find sustainable and realistic solutions grows stronger.

“OFTEC fully shares this ambition and, since we met at our conference last year, real and significant progress to develop an alternative fuel for the UK’s oil-using homes has been made. This includes the completion of the in-depth research we commissioned at the end of last year and we look forward to more widely sharing the positive findings of this study next month, as well as outlining the next steps we need to take towards delivering our realistic, long-term solution.

“As government ramps up its decarbonisation agenda, we will continue to engage directly with the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to push biofuels as the most cost-effective and practical solution to decarbonise oil heated homes. It is therefore now more important than ever for the liquid fuel heating sector to rally together around a common set of goals and demonstrate an ability and willingness to evolve.”