Renewable Heat Incentive
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The Renewable Heat Incentive (the RHI) is a payment system in England, Scotland and Wales, for the generation of heat from renewable energy sources. Introduced on 28 November 2011, the RHI replaces the
Low Carbon Building Programme The Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) was a payments system in England, Scotland and Wales. The UK Government programme was administered by BERR (formerly the DTI) and ran from 1 April 2006 until its closure to new applications on 24 May 2010.< ...
, which closed in 2010. The RHI operates in a similar manner to the
Feed-in Tariff A feed-in tariff (FIT, FiT, standard offer contract,Couture, T., Cory, K., Kreycik, C., Williams, E., (2010)Policymaker's Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy advanced renewable tariff, ...
system, and was introduced through the same legislation - the
Energy Act 2008 The Energy Act 2008c 32 is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 110 - Commencement Orders made under section 110(2)The Energy Act 2008 (Commencement No. 1 and Savings) Order 2009(S.I. 2009/45 (C.4))The Ene ...
. In the first phase of the RHI cash payments are paid to owners who install renewable heat generation equipment in non-domestic buildings: Commercial RHI. The RHI went live on 28 November 2011 for non domestic buildings. The
Coalition Government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
confirmed its support for the RHI in the October 2010
Spending Review A spending review, or occasionally a comprehensive spending review, is a governmental process in the United Kingdom carried out by HM Treasury to set firm expenditure limits and, through public service agreements, define the key improvements that t ...
and published details on 10 March 2011. The RHI was extended to domestic buildings on 9 April 2014 after a further series of delays. Three consultations were launched which included proposed domestic tariffs and a long discussion on eligible technologies along with changes to the Non-domestic RHI which included proposals to triple the tariffs for ground source
heat pump A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing h ...
s and the proposed addition of a tariff for Air to Water Heat Pumps. Investment in low carbon technologies is a private investment for a public benefit. The RHI is due to end on 31 March 2022. The Government has not announced how it will encourage low carbon heating after 31 March 2021, or the supply chains on which it relies.


Non-domestic RHI

The Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (NDRHI) in Great Britain closed to new applicants on 31 March 2021. Through the Non-domestic RHI, generators of renewable heat for non-domestic buildings can be paid up to 10.44p/kWhr for hot water and up to 9.09p/kWhr for heat which they generate and use themselves. The RHI tariff depends on which renewable heat systems are used and the scale of generation. The annual subsidy lasts for 20 years for non-domestic buildings, and seven years for domestic buildings. As such, users may earn enough money from the tariffs to pay off their installation costs in five to eight years. According to the Government, which has set the tariff levels, users will earn a return of 12% per annum. This is tax free income for individuals. The equivalent for Feed-In Tariffs is 5–8%. Are You Compliant with Heat Meter Recalibration Requirements for the Non-Domestic RHI? 2022 Ofgem has recently sent out communications that require every RHI participant to recalibrate all heat meters at least every 10 years (or in line with the manufacturer’s instructions where available, whichever is sooner). The 10-year start date begins from when your meters were first installed, most recently recalibrated or replaced. To comply with this requirement, you can choose to either recalibrate or replace your meter. Failure to comply will be considered a breach of your ongoing obligations and could result in payments being suspended or permanently withheld. ''How Can DMS Help?'' DMS Metering Solutions are the heat metering specialists based in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. DMS can liaise with manufacturers to cost the options for re-calibration or offer replacement heat meters, we can talk you through the most cost-effective options with no obligation. The RHI provides support for community and
district heating District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...
schemes where a single renewable heat system provides heat or hot water to more than one property.


Eligibility for the Non-domestic RHI

The
renewable heat Renewable heat is an application of renewable energy referring to the generation of heat from renewable sources; for example, feeding radiators with water warmed by focused solar radiation rather than by a fossil fuel boiler. Renewable heat technol ...
technologies which are eligible under the Non-domestic RHI are
solar thermal Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors. Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United S ...
(hot water) panels,
ground source heat pumps A ground source heat pump (also geothermal heat pump) is a heating/cooling system for buildings that uses a type of heat pump to transfer heat to or from the ground, taking advantage of the relative constancy of temperatures of the earth through ...
, water source heat pumps, biomass boilers, and biomethane. The list was extended in April 2014 to include air to water heat pumps and deep geothermal. See table of tariffs for the Non-domestic RHI.


Criticism of the Non-domestic RHI

Although based on the Energy Act 2008, the Non-domestic RHI was not introduced until November 2011. Although intended to support a range of renewable heat technologies, nearly all the initial incentives were paid for biomass boilers. The larger initial tariffs for biomass boilers decreased the demand for other renewable technologies including heat pumps and solar thermal. From May 2014 the Non-domestic RHI tariffs have been realigned with increased tariffs for ground source heat pumps and the introduction of RHI tariffs for air to water heat pumps. The effect of prescriptive legislation has been to inhibit innovation in renewable technologies - although one of the stated aims of the RHI has been to encourage innovation. In Northern Ireland, the RHI scheme was implemented with serious flaws, allowing business owners to make a profit from heating properties that were previously unheated. The political fallout led to the
Renewable Heat Incentive scandal The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal (RHI scandal), also referred to as RHIgate and the Cash for Ash scandal, is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy (wood pellet burning) incentive scheme that has b ...
.


Domestic RHI

The introduction of Domestic RHI has been delayed many times following a series of tardy consultation processes. The latest delay is from summer 2013 to April 2014. It is now available for eligible installations commissioned from 15 July 2009 onwards. Any installation taking place between September 2011 and 31 March 2014 was eligible for the Renewable Heat Premium Payments which consisted of a small upfront payment prior to the RHI being introduced.


Eligibility for Domestic RHI

Through the Domestic RHI, generators of renewable heat for single domestic buildings can be paid up to 20.66p/kWhr for solar thermal hot water and up to 20.46p/kWhr for heat which they generated by a ground source heat pump. The RHI tariff depends on which renewable heat systems are used and the scale of generation. The tariffs are larger than for the Non-domestic RHI, but are paid over seven years, rather than for 20 years for non-domestic buildings. See table of tariffsTable of Domestic RHI tariffs
/ref> for the Domestic RHI.


Criticism of the Domestic RHI

Although based on the Energy Act 2008, DECC has taken six years before introducing the Domestic RHI. Delays have been very damaging to the renewable energy industries – which DECC claims to be supporting. The RHI has suppressed innovations in renewable energy sectors by excluding from incentives any technologies which are not already well established.


See also

* Boiler scrappage scheme, launched in 2010 *
Feed-in tariffs in the United Kingdom A feed-in tariff is when payments are given by energy suppliers if a property or organisation generates their own electricity using technology such as solar panels or wind turbines and feeds any surplus back to the grid. In the United Kingdom, t ...
*
Renewable Heat Incentive scandal The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal (RHI scandal), also referred to as RHIgate and the Cash for Ash scandal, is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy (wood pellet burning) incentive scheme that has b ...
in Northern Ireland


References


External links


Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive: Latest Changes to Eligibility Applied from 5th Feb, 2015

Appendix 6: Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)

MCS Installation Database (MID)
{{Energy in the United Kingdom, govreg Renewable energy in England Renewable energy in Scotland Renewable energy in Wales