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Energy and climate change secretary Greg Barker has confirmed that householders could get paid hundreds of pounds as part of the renewable heat incentive (RHI).
Tariff levels have been set at 7.3p/kWh for air source heat pumps; 12.2p/kWh for biomass boilers; 18.8p/kWh for ground source heat pumps and at least 19.2 p/kWh for solar thermal.
RHI for householders is designed to drive forward uptake of renewable heat technologies in homes across Great Britain to cut carbon, help meet renewables targets and save money on bills in what the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) is calling a “world first”.
It has been running in the non-domestic sector since November 2011.
Barker said: “The coalition is committed to helping hardworking families with the cost of living.
“Investing for the long term in new renewable heat technologies will mean cleaner energy and cheaper bills. So this package of measures is a big step forward in our drive to get innovative renewable heating kit in our homes.
“Householders can now invest in a range of exciting heating technologies knowing how much the tariff will be for different renewable heat technologies and benefit from the clean green heat produced. We are also sending a clear signal to industry that the Coalition is 110 percent committed to boosting and sustaining growth in this sector.”
The scheme will be made available to homeowners, private and social landlords, third party owners of heating systems and people who build their own homes. Anyone who has installed a renewable heat technology since 15 July 2009 and meets the scheme eligibility criteria will be able to join the scheme.
RHI domestic will support air to water heat pumps; biomass only boilers and biomass pellet stoves with back boilers; ground and water source heat pumps; flat plate and evacuated tube solar thermal panels.
Payments will be made on a quarterly basis for seven years. The tariffs have been set at a level that reflects the expected cost of renewable heat generation over 20 years. In most cases, payments will be made based on estimated heat demand of the property. Decc will offer an extra set payment of £230 per year where consumers take out metering and monitoring support packages for heat pumps and £200 for biomass boilers.
Applicants will be required to complete a Green Deal assessment before submitting their application and must ensure they have met minimum loft (250mm) and cavity wall insulation requirements, where appropriate. All installations and installers must be MCS certified (or certified by an equivalent scheme). MCS certified installers are currently required to be members of the renewable energy consumer code, which is backed by the Trading Standards Institute.
The RHI for householders will be administered by Ofgem.
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