A £10 million Government scheme which aims to encourage the uptake of renewable heating technologies in the social housing sector is now open for applications.
Launched today, under the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme social housing landlords across the UK can apply for a one-off grant which they can put towards the cost of installing low carbon forms of heating. The initiative is designed to get more heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar hot water systems into social housing properties.
Grants of up to £175,000 are up for grabs to social housing providers including housing associations and local authorities. The first phase of the scheme for social landlords, launched last year, was a great success and allowed almost 1,000 households to switch to green heating rather than continue to rely on old inefficient and expensive heating systems.
The Renewable Heat Premium Payment – the forerunner to the Renewable Heat Incentive – is being administered by the Energy Saving Trust. A panel made up of representatives from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will have the final say on applications, which will be evaluated with certain criteria in mind, including:
- Type of fuel that’s being replaced
- What energy efficient measures are to be installed
- Track record – whether they’ve implemented similar measures
- Value for money
“The opening of the second round of applications for the RHPP scheme for social landlords is great news for social housing tenants across Great Britain. The scheme offers real value to tenants as not only does it help them save money on their energy bills, but also helps them to reduce their energy usage,” said the Energy Saving Trust’s chief executive Philip Sellwood.
One winner of last years social housing competition is Vincent Wedlock-Ward MBE. The project officer at Southern Housing Group said:
“We received £175,000 from DECC under last year’s RHPP scheme for social landlords which helped us replace old overnight storage heating systems with air source pumps for 40 householders living off the gas grid. Without this funding this would not have been possible.”
Residents have been positive in their feedback and have been able to make considerable energy savings thanks to the heat pumps, with some managing to cut their bills by 50%.
The social housing scheme competition is open for applications until 4th July. Applicants should hear if they have been successful in August. A similar community scheme is set to open this summer.
