RHI Renewable Heat Incentives

The Renewable Heat Incentive is a fixed payment for the renewable heat you generate yourself

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is a financial commitment by the UK Government to support programmes for renewable heat with the long term goal of encouraging the use of low carbon technologies, thereby decreasing our nation’s carbon footprint.

The RHI scheme was launched in November 2011 for the non-domestic sector providing incentive payments to industry, businesses and public sector organisations for introducing certain renewable energy systems that generate and use renewable energy to heat their buildings thus reducing our dependency on the use of fossil fuels. Phase 2, the domestic element of the RHI, is expected to be introduced in Spring 2014.

Proposed tariff ranges for air source heat pumps (6.9-11.5p/kWh), biomass boilers (5.2-8.7p/kWh), ground source heat pumps (12.5-17.3p/kWh) and solar thermal technologies (17.3p/kWh) that are MCS certified and meet relevant required standards, including specific emission limits for biomass systems. Payments for householders are made over seven years for each kWh of heat produced for the expected lifetime of the renewable technology and based on deemed heat usage.

There are three steps to the RHI – Renewable Heat Incentive

• Step One - You install in your property renewable heat systems such as solar thermal panels, heat pumps or a biomass boiler.
• Step Two – You measure how much heat your renewable energy systems produce.
• Step Three – You get paid a fixed amount based on that output, the type of technology and the size of the system

What renewable energy systems are eligible for the RHI?

Most forms of renewable heat generation in all sizes.