Renewables Decarbonising heat
A brighter future for
low-carbon heat? The UK government’s new Clean Heat Grant shows tentative lessons have been taken from the failed Renewable Heat Incentive, writes Jess Ralston at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit
Flagship policy falls short One scheme that targeted carbon emissions reductions from heating was the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The domestic RHI was launched in 2014 as the flagship policy for supporting low-carbon heat in the UK. It paid households incremental sums over seven years to help cover the costs of renewable heating systems such as electric heat pumps and biomass boilers. However, many experts consider the domestic RHI to be a failure. It is easy to see why: with only two years to go, just one-fifth of the installations expected have been delivered. It seems unlikely that even half of the estimate will be achieved. The National Audit Office concluded that the scheme has “not achieved value for money” and that overpayments may be a problem, resulting in taxpayers’ money being wasted. Some might say that this is due to the format of the scheme. While there are savings and earnings to be made in the long-term when it comes to technologies with a high upfront cost, such as air and
Start: ground source heat pumps, the initial capital outlay can be prohibitive.
April 2022
Back on track but shaky start The new Clean Heat Grant, proposed by the government in April 2020, is a welcome step for many. Not only does it help to address the upfront cost barrier, but it also includes incentives that encourage households to plan changes to their heating systems
Close:
More ambition needed to decarbonise heat
Upfront funding:
11k
< £4,000 for low-carbon technologies
Clean Heat Grant to support the installation of around 11,000 heat pumps per year, for 2 years
19m To meet net-zero emissions goal, the CCC says the UK needs nearly 19m heat pump installations by 2050
March 2024 Budget:
£100m
Air, ground and watersource heat pumps, biomass boilers up to
45kW capacity cap
in households and small non-domestic buildings
IMAGES: GETTY
H
eat decarbonisation in the residential sector – which is responsible for about a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions – has been recognised by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) as one of ‘the toughest challenges facing climate policy’. While the UK is doing well on decarbonising power and industry, challenges remain for energy efficiency and heating in housing.
Proposed Clean Heat Grant
28 energyfocus | www.the-eic.com
28-29 RW Low Carbon Heat_EF Summer 2020_Energy Focus 28
20/07/2020 08:50
