Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme: Air Pollution

(asked on 19th November 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the use of biomass boilers supported financially by the (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic renewable heat incentive on (i) air quality and (ii) levels of (A) morbidity and (B) mortality in (1) urban and (2) rural areas.


Answered by
 Portrait
Claire Perry
This question was answered on 22nd November 2018

Biomass Boilers supported under the RHI scheme must meet strict air quality and feedstock sustainability rules. The air quality requirements ensure applicants for both RHI schemes with a biomass boiler (including CHP) will need to have emissions levels no higher than 30 grams per gigajoule (g/GJ) net heat input for particulate matter (PM) and 150g/GJ for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are the two main pollutants. Currently no data is available on levels of morbidity and mortality.

We are currently consulting on making new biomass installations in urban areas ineligible for the RHI. The consultation also contains an assessment of the impacts of this policy change. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/renewable-heat-incentive-biomass-combustion-in-urban-areas

Reticulating Splines