Heat Pumps: Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme
(asked on 23rd February 2016) - View Source
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has undertaken a value-for-money assessment for gas absorption heat pumps for inclusion within the Renewable Heat Incentive; and if she will place in the Library a copy of such an assessment.
We intend to reform the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to improve value for money and reduce costs; improve cost control and budget management; and ensure the scheme focuses more on our long-term needs, while contributing to both our carbon and renewable energy targets. We plan to consult on the changes shortly. Therefore, I am unable to make specific commitments as to the future shape of the scheme at this point.
DECC commissioned a suite of evidence to look into the cost and performance of technologies which are not currently eligible for the RHI but could be considered for future inclusion; one of which was Gas Driven Heat Pumps – available at:
We have not undertaken a formal value for money assessment for the inclusion of gas absorption heat pumps under the RHI, though we have undertaken a more general assessment of whether gas absorption heat pumps should be supported within the RHI.
Given the challenges of reforming the existing RHI scheme, we are not persuaded that now is the time to also consider opening the scheme to technologies which are not currently supported. Instead, we want to start building a dialogue around the long-term policy framework required for the low-carbon technologies needed in the future, which does not rely on public subsidy.