The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
has published the Government response to chapter 2 of the
consultation on eligible heat uses within the Non-Domestic
Renewable Heat Incentive. A summary of the outcome is provided
below:
Summary of changes
- The Government does not intend to remove all drying practices
as eligible heat uses
The Government will:
- Remove wood-fuel drying as an eligible heat use other
than where the renewable heat installation is replacing a
fossil fuel heat source. A transition period will be included
to allow wood-fuel drying plant that are in development to be
accredited;
- Remove the drying, cleaning or processing of waste as an
eligible heat use;
- Further tighten the eligibility of swimming pools so
that only swimming pools that are used for a municipal or
commercial purpose receive Non-domestic RHI support;
- Make installations where heat is produced predominantly for a
single domestic premises ineligible under the Non-domestic RHI.
The changes will be applicable to new applicants only, not
existing RHI participants. Although they will apply for existing
participants who add capacity or where a participant otherwise
begins to use heat generated by the installation for an ineligible
heat use on or after the date the reforms come into effect,
currently anticipated for spring 2018.
There will be a six-month transition period for wood-fuel
drying plants that are demonstrably already in development at the
point the Government response is published - this does not apply to
cleaning or processing of waste.
The Government also intends to introduce further evidence
requirements to ensure that Non-domestic RHI applicants have a
genuine, economically justifiable use for the heat they propose
generating. This will not be included with this implementation, but
plans are to introduce further changes in future.
The full consultation response is available here