BIOMASS HEAT THE CHEAPEST SOURCE OF ON-DEMAND LOW CARBON HEATING
The RHI has been an excellent catalyst for UK businesses and individuals alike to learn about the benefi ts of renewable heat and the technologies available today. However, with a commitment for new applications only to March 2016 there is a large amount of short term thinking occurring throughout the industry which will have a negative impact on the long term development of renewable heat.
The RHI policy itself, while a welcome boost to the UK industry, also needs some alteration taking in the lessons learnt over the last few years. Areas requiring immediate attention are the impacts of rapid degression of the most successful technologies to date and whether the individual technology budgets promote or hinder the deployment of renewable heating solutions throughout the UK.
MANIFESTO ASKS
Biomass heat is one of the most effi cient and cost-effective modern energy sources, with the costs of the fuel already cheaper than mains gas for many homes throughout the UK, as well as being signifi cantly cheaper than traditional off-gas grid heating solutions (i.e. electric heating, oil and LNG).
Biomass heat uses sustainable forestry resource, typically certifi ed wood pellets and chips. Biomass has huge undeveloped potential, which could be realised if existing government policy is improved.
The UK targets for 2020 are challenging, and need to be achieved in the most cost effi cient way. Biomass has so far delivered 95% of installations under the RHI, and is forecast to contribute 60% of overall renewable heat energy by 2020. This will require a 75% per annum growth of the biomass heat sector every year, which given RHI policy certainty to 2020 is easily achievable by industry. Consequently, the renewable heat sector needs all political parties to indicate clearly how the RHI scheme will deliver that post 2016.
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• Give industry post-2016 certainty - Maintain and expand the RHI to at least 2020, confi rming budgets and minimum tariffs for technologies from 2016-2020
• RHI effectiveness - Review the banding structure to ensure cost-effectiveness
• Protect projects with long lead times - Provide suffi cient tariff certainty for projects with long lead times (e.g. large biomass heat and CHP)
• Ensure the RHI reaches the industrial sector - Introduce support for heat delivered directly via air, such as kilns
• Heat networks are a UK infrastructure priority - Introduce framework and incentives to build crucial district heating
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