Feed-In Tariffs
From April 2010, renewable electricity generation projects have been eligible to receive Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) - these include solar, wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion and micro-CHP installations.
The tariff consists of two parts:
Generation tarriff – payment for each unit of electricity generated (regardless of whether you use the energy the technology generates)
Export Tarriffs – payment for each unit exported to the grid
Systems up to 5MW capacity are eligible under the scheme and tariffs are paid for 20 years, except for solar systems which qualify for 25 years. Tariffs are index-linked to RPI
Green Deal
The Green Deal is a legal framework which came into force in January 2013 to allow energy saving investment costs to be ‘attached to the property’ and recovered from energy bills. This means that a homeowner can take out a loan for an energy-efficiency improvement to their property and if they move the improvements and obligation stays with property and transfers to the next energy bill payer at sale.
Therefore, the idea is to allow you to install new green technology into your property with no upfront costs, paying back the costs through energy bills in the future. Jobs will be generated through the scheme as well as stimulating growth as part of the emerging low carbon economy.
A green deal accredited assessor will visit to see which green measures will be suitable, providing you with a written report of how to improve energy efficiency within your home.
Renewable Heat Incentive
The UK Government has introduced the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which aims to increase investment in, and installation of, renewable heating systems. This incentive, introduced in legislation through the Energy Act 2008, is designed to provide a financial incentive to install low-carbon and/or renewable heating systems in place of fossil-fuel burning installations.
The RHI has been designed to work in a similar manner to the Feed-In Tariff system already introduced for small-scale renewable electricity generation. This provides a guaranteed income for owners of renewable heating systems, paying a tariff to the owner based on the quantity of heat generated and the nature of the renewable technology. This income is guaranteed for 20 years, with the intention of making the capital purchase of renewable heating systems more attractive by offsetting the operational costs.
Domestic RHI
Nearly half of the UK's CO2 emissions and 60% of domestic energy bills are used for heating space and water, the RHI aims to change that with the aim of 12% being supplied renewably by 2020.
The Energy Saving Trust is handling domestic applications and the technologies eligible are:
Air Source Heat Pumps – approx. £1,300/unit
Ground Source Heat Pumps – approx. £2,300/unit
Biomass boilers – approx. £2,000/unit
Solar Thermal – approx. £600/unit
The vouchers are only available to installations off the mains gas network, except for solar thermal, which anyone can apply for.
Phase 2 of the scheme will run until 31 March 2014.
Commercial RHI
The non-domestic RHI scheme supports renewable heat installations in business, industry and the public sector. The incentive will be paid for 20 years to eligible technologies that have installed since 15 July 2009, with payments made for each kWh of renewable heat produced. The following technologies are eligible:
Solid biomass
Ground and water source heat pumps (air source expected to be included in the future)
Solar thermal (up to 200kWth)
Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme
Renewable Heat Premium Payments are a one-off grant scheme for domestic installations of renewable heat. An extension to the scheme was announced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change on 26 March 2013. The scheme is being extended until the end of March 2014, ahead of the RHI scheme for householders.
Renewables Obligation Certificates
The Renewables Obligation was created in 2002 to provide incentives for the deployment of large-scale renewable electricity in the UK, with Ofgem issuing Certificates to electricity generators relating to the amount of eligible renewable electricity they generate. This electricity can then be sold to suppliers which allows a premium to be received, in addition to the wholesale electricity price.
Shell Springboard
This scheme, run by the company Shell aims to find the UK's next big idea in low carbon enterprise and innovation. Every year, £330,000 is awarded to innovative and commercially viable business ideas that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Having awarded over £2.25 million to 62 businesses since 2005, the scheme is an excellent opportunity to make a difference to the environment
Sustainable Energy Community Programme
Community based organisations can apply for this funding programme which awards up to £5,000 or 50% of project costs for feasibility studies and generation of energy efficient measures and heat generating technologies. Run by the company BRE as an award partner of the Lottery Fund, the scheme is open to not-for-profit community organisations.
