The Heating & Hotwater Industry Council has most recently stated the reformed Renewable Heat Incentive scheme to be “flawed”, warning that it will be unable to deliver any meaningful impact on the delivery of renewable heat – a concerning notion, giving the scheme’s very goal.

As such, the Heating & Hotwater Industry Council has outlined a number of changes it both recommends, and would like to see changed if the Renewable Heat Incentive is to bring about positive change; the most prominent notion being that the scheme needs a far more clear focus, as well as a change in the a targeting of funding so as best to provide improvement.

Highlighting that the scheme should target funding towards homes actually able to have a renewable heating system, as well as also being one with a presently carbon-intensive heating system, Director of the Heating & Hotwater Industry Council, Stewart Clements nods towards the importance of a proper incentive scheme to achieve goals, and does indeed reiterate the organisation’s commitment towards decarbonising heat; the concerns primarily revolving around the how and where this can be done.

On this very note, Stewart Clements stated: “We are legally committed to achieving our 2020 renewable targets with the RHI the flagship policy for helping to decarbonise heat. Unfortunately, as it stands the RHI will simply not deliver.”

Of those further changes highlighted by the Hotwater Industry Council, the three most notable are its encouragement for: the broadening of the spread of technology available within the scheme (perhaps seeing the biopropane and gas-absorption heat pumps to be included), the keeping of solar thermal within the scheme as a way of improving heat pump efficiencies, and also further support in the development of the wider heat pump market.

In agreement, the Energy & Utilities Alliance also agrees on the note that the Renewable Heat Incentive is fundamentally flawed and will be unable to deliver upon the results required.