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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has calculated the social costs linked to pollutants emitted from biomass boilers supported by the Renewable Heat Incentive since that scheme began in 2013.

In the February 2018 Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Impact Assessment, Government estimated the social costs and benefits from carbon savings and air quality impacts for biomass boilers supported under the RHI. The discounted lifetime value of carbon savings and air quality impacts from RHI biomass boilers is shown below. This demonstrates a positive impact, and therefore the social benefit of biomass on the scheme across GB.