Come March, the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme will be underspent by a whopping £4.5 million, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
As if those figures don’t make for gloomy enough reading, statistics released recently by DECC make it appear unlikely that anything remaining in the budget will be rolled over into the second phase of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).
The RHPP was introduced as the first phase of the renewable heating incentive, as a means of encouraging homeowners to switch to renewable heating technology.
Launched in July, the scheme was set to spark a new era in home heating, with the Government making up to 25,000 renewable heating installations eligible for a one-off payment, which would help fund the upfront cost of a green heating system. Under the grants, homeowners can install biomass boilers, heat pumps and solar water heating
The Government has made £15 million available, however in order to benefit from the scheme, applicants will be required to demonstrate that their homes have the minimum levels of energy efficiency. They will also need to monitor the renewable energy system and provide feedback.
If you want to install a solar thermal system, a grant of £300 is on offer. If your home is without mains gas heating, and you’re interested in benefiting from heat pump technology, you could qualify for a one-off payment of £850 towards air source heat pumps, or £1250 for ground source heat pumps. For biomass technology, a £950 grant is available to help with the upfront cost of a biomass boiler
The RHPP scheme closes on 31 March 2012.
No surprise there then!
Our typical ASHP domestic installation is going to cost £12-15k by the time one has finished. Why go to all the hassle of getting mixed up with all DECC’s information demands for £850?
The whole PP scheme was doomed from the outset for most folk.
The main problem is installations have to be installed by an MCS installer and you cannot be on the gas grid. Not many have been done that comply with all the hoops you have to jump through.
David that installation seams quite expensive!