Renewable Heat Incentive

In June 2011 the Government are proposing the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive - effectively a feed-in-tariff for renewable heat technologies such as Solar Thermal.

The RHI will be open to individuals, community groups, and businesses

The technologies that this policy will include are:

• solid biomass - as defi ned in the Renewable Energy Directive,20 but proposing to exclude its use in stoves and similar applications;
• biogas - heat produced from on-site combustion of biogas (including from landfi ll and sewage plants, and syngas), and injection of biomethane into the gas grid;
• energy from the ground - ground source heat pumps or geothermal sources;
• energy from the air - air source heat pumps;
• energy from water - water source heat pumps; and
• energy from the sun - solar thermal panels, but not passive solar heating

All these technology (as with the electricity generation) will have to be MCS accredited (see MCS Accreditation) to be eligible for the annual incentive payment.

However the final details of the RHI have not been finalised, and it is not 100% certain the scheme will go ahead.