[ Focus: Energy effi ciency ] To apply for the RHI, householders will need to
have a Green Deal Assessment, since payments will be made based on the estimated heat demand of the property. The fi nancial incentive will be paid at a per-unit set rate, to the owner of the system, for seven years. The domestic RHI will supersede the existing
Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme. However, taking advantage of an RHPP grant will not disqualify a homeowner from benefi tting from RHI when it is introduced. Rather, the money received under RHPP will be deducted from any future RHI payments. The potential of the domestic RHI is signifi cant,
and electrical contractors are in an excellent position to benefi t – providing there is a mind-set change about working with this type of technology. Domestic heat pumps, for example, are primarily electrical with water pipes attached. This puts it fi rmly in the domain of the electrical sector, with the assistance of a plumbing and heating engineer to take care of the water based element.
Feed-In Tariffs (FITs)
When the Feed-In Tariff (FITs) scheme was introduced in April 2010 it was seen as a way to kick-start the mass adoption of renewable energy technologies. In this respect, it succeeded, as the popularity of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels soon made it a boom industry. According to DECC, the UK had 76.9MW of
installed solar PV capacity at the end of 2010, compared to just 0.4MW of capacity in 1996. Despite the gloomy economic conditions, around 39,000 jobs were created by the industry at its peak, and for MCS-certifi ed electrical contractors it off ered a welcome revenue stream in what were some tough trading times. However, to halt the rapid reduction in funds,
in March 2011 the government announced that it planned to reduce the amount of FIT payments to new households installing solar panels from 43.3p per kWh to 21p – therefore lowering the revenue earned by households from an average of £1,100 to £500. This disastrous move saw activity in solar PV installation drop off almost immediately, with many fi rms specialising in this type of work going bust. Furthermore, in 2012 the government introduced
a system of ‘tariff degression’ by which the tariff s are cut by around 3.5 per cent every three months. The current rate is 14.9p per kWh. Despite government’s handling of FITs, solar PV in particular can still provide an excellent return of between fi ve and eight per cent for 20 years – a return currently unmatched by most savings and other investments. Although contractors that chose to specialise in this technology have suff ered, those that added it to their existing range of services have generally done good business, which should will continue throughout 2014.
This is still an exciting industry to be involved in. However, you need to react fast
Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
Article 8 of the EU Energy Effi ciency Directive (2012/27/EU) requires all member states to introduce a regime of regular energy audits for ‘large enterprises’ (non-SMEs) to promote the uptake of cost-eff ective energy effi ciency measures. These audits must be undertaken by 5 December 2015, and then every four years thereafter. The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) is the UK government’s proposed approach to implementing this requirement. Under the scheme, approved personnel will carry out assessments to identify energy saving recommendations. There is also a suggestion that a certain percentage of public buildings should have work carried out each year – leading to potential work for contractors. The recently completed consultation sought views
About the author
Bill Wrightis head of Energy Solutions at the ECA.
on ESOS. Some respondents warned of the need to be careful about implementing measures that do not result in a simple ‘check box’ exercise for businesses. They also need to ensure that businesses already doing extensive work to reduce energy use and costs are not required to duplicate or redesign any existing measures.
December 2013 ECA Today 25
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