Renewable Heat Premium Payments

Roger Webb had a meeting with DECC on Friday 18 about Renewable Heat Premium Payments. This was attended by a number of trade associations together with DECC officials from the Distributed Energy & Heat and RHI teams. It was confirmed  that David Wagstaff, Head of Distributed Energy & Heat is leading the Premium Payments phase of the RHI.

The meeting was all about the design and the delivery of the scheme.

At the meeting it as confirmed that:

RHPPs will start in July 2011

• Budget is £15m
• Likely subsidy for each technology
• Up to 25,000 installations expected
• Energy efficiency measures important so will be a requirement (probably also for solar thermal)
• Focus is off gas grid (but not exclusively so)
• Monitoring and feedback will be required
• Customer will get RHI tariffs when full scheme introduced in 2012 to coincide with launch of the Green Deal
• Covers all regions of GB
• Not available for new build

Some of the main topics that were discussed at the meeting were:

Allocation of available funding between technologies. DECC’s view is that about 60% of the numbers of installations are likely to be solar thermal and about 40% will be space heating, i.e. heat pumps and biomass. On this basis most of the funding would be for space heating

The need or otherwise for phasing of funding during the period that RHPPs will be available. It was apparent at the meeting that there little understanding of the likely speed of take up and whether the requirements will be to stimulate or constrain demand

Mechanisms by which customers can apply for the payments

What level of monitoring is feasible and who should be responsible e.g. the customer or the supplier

How to deal with any hiatus in the market before July when RHPPs start

The role of  EPC’s in determining eligibility for RHPPs. Here there was broad agreement that only the fabric elements of the EPC rating should be used and that the cost and service elements should be ignored

Roger Webb attends Executive Council of EHI in Frankfurt

The main items of discussion were forthcoming European policy and regulations impacting on the heating industry. The Eco design and Energy Labelling Directives remain top of the agenda and we are expecting to see some proposals which will define minimum efficiency for boilers and heat pumps in the near future.

HHIC and Roger Webb get vocal at Ecobuild

Roger Webb will be at Ecobuild for three days  and if anyone would like to meet and discuss issues and activities – HHIC has a stand N1500 – so we will be delighted to see you. He will be speaking in the Ecobuild seminar programme at ExCel London.

01 March 11 Seminar Stream: Refurbishing Britain – 15.45pm – 17.00pm -Session Title -Retrofitting efficient domestic space and water heating systems. Presentation 15.45 -16.10 – Title: Latest in energy efficient condensing boilers and benefits from retrofitting.

02 – March 11 -Energy In Buildings – Session Time 16.30 -18.00 –  Title: Energy efficient heating systems. Presentation time: 16.30 -17.00. Presentation title: Improving energy efficiency of existing/traditional equipment.

As well as speaking at the above event, Webb will also be chairing the seminar stream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More awareness required for the Priority Services Register

The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council who represents the voice of the heating and hot water industry has grave concerns that many people who are not able to afford regular servicing on their heating systems are putting themselves at risk.

One of the main problems is that many people are not aware of the Priority Services Register (PSR).  Energy suppliers are obliged to offer a range of free services, known as the priority services register, to their most vulnerable customers. These services are free to join and are available from all mains gas and electricity suppliers.

Consumers however like the storyline in EastEnders where the character Heather Trott falls unconscious due to CO exposure from a faulty boiler this week reveals how some vulnerable people can fall through the net. The character, Heather, who has poor health, on benefits and a single mother cannot afford to service her boiler and this results in devastating consequences.

I  think it is good news that such a high profile drama such as EastEnder’s is running a story to highlight the dangers of CO and the importance of regular servicing. We as the voice of the industry are extremely concerned that more promotion is required to prevent people falling through the net when they are indeed eligible to be put on the register and receive regular servicing. More has to done for those who do not meet the precise criteria of the register but are on low incomes and yet will not be able to afford these safety checks. Installers who go into people’s homes must make sure that their customers are aware of what is available to them. It means that industry must form better partnerships with other bodies and government to ascertain why we are failing those most at need – so that special schemes can become more inclusive to everyone who requires extra help.

HHIC is meeting with Professor David MacKay

HHIC and representatives are meeting with Chief Scientific Advisor to DECC, Professor David Mackay. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the importance of the existing heating industry and market in delivering long-term ambitions to decarbonise the UK economy. By 2020 we need to have put in place a plan to ascertain what to do by 2050.

Mackay, author of the highly influential book Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air, has won plaudits from both environmentalists and policymakers alike for his no-nonsense, science-based approach to dealing with renewable energy technologies.

Mackay’s  heralds a new phase of thinking at DECC on coal power, particularly because Mackay is adamant in his book that avoiding dangerous climate change will require the end of unabated coal burning:

‘Solving climate change is a complex topic,’ he writes, ‘but in a single crude brush-stroke, here is the solution: the price of carbon dioxide must be such that people stop burning coal without capture.’

HHIC believes that although mass renewables are currently not today’s technology, they are important in that we can see what tomorrow’s technology will be.

Meetings in Brussels

Last week, Roger Webb partook in meetings in Brussels. On Thursday  he was part of the EHI, European Trade Association for heating meeting which discussed the new EHI steering group that is coordinating all of the political and technical activities of the association. Later he attended the working group on energy efficiency and environmental policy where they reviewed the eco-design of energy saving products and energy labelling products. The aim of the industry’s efforts is to end all the uncertainty concerning the way forward in terms of product labelling and product efficiency. We need to seek an agreement between industry and the European Commission.

Friday, Roger took part in a meeting with the Domestic Heating Taskforce  and DECC officials – this was to discuss future of the Taskforce and inclusion of the heating measures within the Green Deal.

Green Deal Capacity & Innovation Forum

Roger Webb who is part of the Heat and Hot Water Taskforce is just one organisation that is part of a Green Deal Capacity & Innovation Forum. The object of this forum is to advise government on the supply chain evolution required to meet our 2020 Green Deal related climate change targets. Roger met this week with other organisations of the forum to discuss various issues that industry would like broached to DECC. The group meets every other month and provides a valuable opportunity to put industry concerns and advice to government.