I listened to David Mackenzie, who chairs the microrenewables working group, speak the other day about the challenges faced by the Scottish Government in trying to meet the targets set of generating 11% of heat from renewable sources by 2020.
Renewable Heat is simply heat (rather than electricity) produced from renewable sources such as biomass( usually wood), ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps, water source heat pumps, solar heating, wind to heat, geothermal, heat from waste biomass, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas.
Domestic use accounts for around fifty percent of the total heat energy required in Scotland. In order for Scotland to meet its renewable heat targets there need to be around 25,000 households adopting renewable heat per annum between now and 2020. Only 1000 households installed renewable heat into their homes last year. So that leaves something of a gap....
One of the barriers emerging - surprise, surprise is accreditation.
The current system requires that you use an accredited installer, if you are to receive a grant or be able to tap into the renewable heat incentives when they come on stream next year. Seems reasonable. Quality control for public money. However, like the accreditation scheme for insulation, the demands of the scheme operated from London are such that it is an expensive affair to become accredited.
We have been investigating putting in a log boiler into the properties on Skye held by the Trust. One person I spoke to serving the islands reckoned that it had cost him around £20,000 to become accredited, between the the cost of the training itself, the days of lost work and travel etc. So, it is little surprise that when it comes to installing, those who are accredited need to recoup their costs.
Not surprisngly there is a dearth of accredited installers and yet most of the skills required are basic plumbing skills. A survey by the Energy Savings Trust found that 90% of those surveyed go to a local plumnber when they required work done. Imagine the difference if most local plumbers were accredited. Not only is the work kept local but the local skill set is enhanced and best of all the knowledge and enthusiasim for alternative systems is locally available. I would be much more likely to think about a system recommended by a local tradesperson I trust rather than a stranger. As a result of this accredited process, installers charge considerably more to install renewable heat plant than those who are not accredited so any grant from the government is effectively ‘lost’ as it costs more than the grant available to use an accredited installers – thus adding to the barriers.
The solution seems straight forward. Find a way to accredit our local plumbers. Not so hard as it may seem as, according to Mr Mackenzie, the standards set in Scotland for training our plumbers are high and surpass much of the standards set through the London based MCS(Microgeneration Certification Scheme). Renewable heat is a devolved matter so this can be tackled in Scotland.
Renewable Heat is simply heat (rather than electricity) produced from renewable sources such as biomass( usually wood), ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps, water source heat pumps, solar heating, wind to heat, geothermal, heat from waste biomass, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas.
Domestic use accounts for around fifty percent of the total heat energy required in Scotland. In order for Scotland to meet its renewable heat targets there need to be around 25,000 households adopting renewable heat per annum between now and 2020. Only 1000 households installed renewable heat into their homes last year. So that leaves something of a gap....One of the barriers emerging - surprise, surprise is accreditation.
The current system requires that you use an accredited installer, if you are to receive a grant or be able to tap into the renewable heat incentives when they come on stream next year. Seems reasonable. Quality control for public money. However, like the accreditation scheme for insulation, the demands of the scheme operated from London are such that it is an expensive affair to become accredited.
We have been investigating putting in a log boiler into the properties on Skye held by the Trust. One person I spoke to serving the islands reckoned that it had cost him around £20,000 to become accredited, between the the cost of the training itself, the days of lost work and travel etc. So, it is little surprise that when it comes to installing, those who are accredited need to recoup their costs.
Not surprisngly there is a dearth of accredited installers and yet most of the skills required are basic plumbing skills. A survey by the Energy Savings Trust found that 90% of those surveyed go to a local plumnber when they required work done. Imagine the difference if most local plumbers were accredited. Not only is the work kept local but the local skill set is enhanced and best of all the knowledge and enthusiasim for alternative systems is locally available. I would be much more likely to think about a system recommended by a local tradesperson I trust rather than a stranger. As a result of this accredited process, installers charge considerably more to install renewable heat plant than those who are not accredited so any grant from the government is effectively ‘lost’ as it costs more than the grant available to use an accredited installers – thus adding to the barriers.
The solution seems straight forward. Find a way to accredit our local plumbers. Not so hard as it may seem as, according to Mr Mackenzie, the standards set in Scotland for training our plumbers are high and surpass much of the standards set through the London based MCS(Microgeneration Certification Scheme). Renewable heat is a devolved matter so this can be tackled in Scotland.
The picture of the log stove is taken from the website 'Biomass - all you need to know' with permission from the from Woodfuel Wales
Simple solutions are often the best. Well said Fran.
ReplyDeleteJake adds
ReplyDeleteThe RHI and the current home energy grants are missing the fact that to achieve 25,000 home conversions to renewable heat per annum is also going to require support for non-automated woodstoves and backboilers. This technology costs a fraction of the whole-house pellet and automated log options but is simply not incentivised. Conversion remains the preserve of the wealthy, not for those in fuel poverty.
Good point.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the incentives just now support either those who are well off or the very poorest but a lot in between miss out.
Fran