Renewable heat incentive - FITs

[Ivan]

Can someone explain the 'renewable heat incentive'? It is 18p/kWh - does this mean that solar thermal systems for domestic hot water will benefit from 18p/kWh produced? If so, that's going to be highly attractive. I wonder what they'll accept for an energy reading - a heat quantity meter, or software calculation based on BS12975?

[dhaslam]

Looks like it doesn't apply until 2011 and may delay installations rather than accelerate them  if it isn't retrospective.   I just wonder why  the incentive needs to be so big, it will encourage all sort of cowboys  into the industry. 

www.rhincentive.co.uk

[wookey]

Hmm, and no doubt the same issues of MCS-accreditation and existing installs will come round again. Some quick sums suggest that the tariff for solar thermal is about 50% better than the existing Good Energy hotrocs scheme. On the other hand the HotROCs scheme has really sensible eligibility criteria.

[rhys]

So far as I can see the rates are very generous - doubt it will get though consultation like this.
No metering just deemed generation.
Based on the Appendix and the BRE Base House Types there are going to be a lot of anomalies, as a result of deemed generation.

[Rooster]

Came across this document which attempts to sum it all up ....

http://www.r-e-a.net/document-library/press-releases/100201RHIPressBriefing.pdf

As far as I tell the preferred option is to use SAP or EPC calculations to calculate heat load then pay a deemed usage, the rate being different for different technologies.

The stated aim is to provide a 12% return for most technologies and a 6% return on Solar Thermal.

[Rooster]

Looking through the consultation document  .....
http://www.decc.gov.uk/Media/viewfile.ashx?FilePath=Consultations\RHI\1_20100204094844_e_@@_ConsultationonRenewableHeatIncentive.pdf&filetype=4 (its a pdf)

..... I noticed this paragraph which frankly rings my alarm bells ..........

Maintenance
Questions of maintenance and breakdown are particularly relevant if tariffs are deemed
over the lifetime of the equipment (see section on metering and deeming in Chapter 3).
To ensure that the incentive is paid only to installations that function correctly, regular
evidence of ongoing maintenance and repair may be required within a fi xed time
period, or payment of the incentive would be at risk. We propose that an approved/
qualifi ed person should be required to carry out any maintenance or repairs to smaller
technologies.

I can see an annual visit from an MCS bod being required to keep the payments. 

[Tobi K]

Hello,

we're holding a free consultation event about the RHI at the Centre for Alternative Technology on March 10, with a senior official from DECC attending to answer your questions and hear your comments.
See my other forum post http://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index.php/topic,10012.0.html for more details.

(apologies for cross-posting, but the event seems relevant to all the RHI threads)

Tobi