MCS takes on DRHI successor in response to Clean Heat Consultation
8th July 2020
MCS, the national certification scheme for renewable technology has shared in full its comprehensive response to the latest government consultation. The ‘future support for low carbon heat’ consultation, which closed last night, details proposals for support mechanisms following the closure of the domestic RHI.
In the response MCS call for a review of the limited funding of £100 million as well as reconsideration of the amount of grant and the flat-rate, technology neutral approach. They state that what is proposed in inadequate to support any significant growth of low carbon technology.
The bias towards technologies is called in to question with MCS raising fears that more appropriate solutions that are more expensive upfront but deliver better long-term savings, both financially and in relation to reduced carbon output, may be overlooked. There are also several arguments within their response to include solar thermal as a credible technology type that would benefit from incentivisation.
MCS highlight that the proposal has little costing or take up analysis of biomass that they believe has led to an underestimation of the real role that biomass can play, in particular in targeting hard to treat properties. They ask for a review of the role that biomass can play with the Clean Heat Grant.
Ian Rippin, CEO of MCS said, “We’ve taken a really open approach in compiling this response, drawing in certified installers and industry experts from across the sector as well as consulting with a range of other stakeholders. All of our comments and suggestions are evidence-based using existing data analysis as well as some newly produced, informed projections and insights.”
He added, “Ultimately the proposals aren’t enough. The biggest frustration is that as an industry, we’ve had to appraise this in isolation without an understanding of the broader policy framework. Funding and incentives for low carbon heat should be designed to underpin the development and expansion of small scale renewables so in our response we call for a comprehensive, broader policy landscape with an ambitious focus on domestic heat decarbonisation.”
To complement any successor to the domestic renewable heat incentive, MCS says there also needs to be investment in skills, awareness raising and consumer education to support significant growth.
Ian said, “MCS will play a pivotal role in the delivery of the Clean Heat Grant Scheme to ensure that quality assurance, standards and consumer protection is effective and embedded. MCS is happy to work with and support BEIS with ongoing monitoring, analysis and feedback to ensure that our sector received continued ongoing support and clear policy signals.”
The full response from MCS is available here