On 1 February 2010, the Government published a consultation on the introduction of a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, which it aims to introduce in April 2011.
The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will provide financial support for those who install renewable heating, which qualifies for support under the scheme.
These proposals have been developed with input from our stakeholders - energy industry trade associations, Ofgem and NGOs - and this consultation constitutes a more formal opportunity for all interested parties to have their say on the details of the RHI mechanism.
The Government proposes the following key aspects of the RHI:
The scheme should support a range of technologies, including air and ground-source heat pumps (and other geothermal energy), solar thermal, biomass boilers, renewable combined heat and power, use of biogas and bioliquids and the injection of biomethane into the natural gas grid.
Support heating at all scales, including households, businesses, offices, public sector buildings and industrial processes in large factories.
Tariff levels have been calculated to bridge the financial gap between the cost of conventional and renewable heat systems at all scales, with additional compensation for certain technologies for an element of the non-financial cost and a rate of return of 12% on the additional cost of renewables, with 6% for solar thermal.
The Energy Act 2008 provides the statutory powers for a renewable heat incentive scheme to be introduced across England, Wales and Scotland. The detailed legal framework will be set out in secondary legislation.
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