Industry welcomes doubling of RHI tariff for ground-source heat pumps
The DECC (Department of Energy & Climate Change) is proposing to more than double the RHI tariff for large-scale ground-source heat-pump installations in a move that has been welcomed by the industry. The proposal is for a tariff of 8.9 to 10.2 p/kWh of renewable heat produced. It will apply to 1350 h of peak capacity and fall to 2.3 p/kWh thereafter. The tariff for large installations has been trebled.
The Ground Source Heat Pump Association believes that the increased tariffs are what the ground-source sector needs to get back on track. Simon Lomax, GSHPA chairman, said, ‘Significantly increased tariffs are just the boost the ground-source sector needs. With these changes, we expect to see growth in ground-source installations and the supply of much greater levels of renewable heat in Britain.’
Chris Davidson, director of development at GI Energy, a UK market leader in ground-source heat-pump installations, is similarly enthusiastic. He says, ‘This is a fantastic boost for the industry, and I am sure that it will help to grow the market. In future many more people will work in buildings that are heated and cooled by ground-source heat pumps.’
He says that the technology is tried and tested and refers to the installation at One New Change in London, which was monitored for a year and found to deliver 4.1 kWh of heating and/or cooling for every kWh of energy consumption.
