Published on Thursday, Dec 1 2011 by David Sanderson
The government’s new scheme to subsidise the production of renewable heat has been praised by the UK’s sustainable energy sector.
The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) - which is the first in the world - opened this week, and will provide subsidies for heat generated as a result of renewable sources, such as solar thermal installations and biomass boilers. The RHI will also offer payments for heat pumps which were installed after 15 July 2009.
Chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, Gaynor Hartnell, told The Engineer, “This is excellent and very long-awaited news. It’s high time UK started benefiting from a major roll-out of some of the cheapest forms of renewable energy.
“It’s not a perfect policy yet, but we look forward to working with DECC and the regulator to help it bring out the best in British renewables,” added Ms Hartnell.
The RHI will see recipients of the subsidies receiving up to 7.9p per kWh for biomass boilers, up to 4.5p per kWh for heat pumps and up to 8.5p per kWh for solar thermal installations.
The renewable energy scheme is expected to bring many positive benefits to the UK as a whole, including saving money on power bills, cutting harmful carbon emissions and boosting interest and awareness of sustainable energy options.
According to recent government estimates, the new scheme will slash carbon emissions across the country by 43 million tonnes by 2020. This major cut represents the equivalent of the annual carbon emissions made by 19 new gas power stations.
The government also predicted that around 112,000 renewable heat installations will be made across both the public and commercial sectors by 2020. More than 14,000 industrial installations are also tipped to be made by that date.
Energy and climate change minister, Greg Barker, highlighted the positives of the new scheme, saying, “Renewable heat will be a big win for our economy - it will support thousands of green jobs, reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels, reduce our carbon emissions and help us meet our renewable target.”
Organisations located across the UK can now apply for subsidies through Ofgem. If approved, they will receive quarterly payments for any heat generated through renewable means for 20 years.
Read more about the Renewable Heat Incentive by visiting the
Ofgem website.
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