UK targets $1.4 bil ‘world first’ renewable heat incentive

The UK government on Thursday launched a GBP860 million ($1.391 billion) program to support investment in renewable heat technologies, which the Department of Energy and Climate Change billed as the world’s first program to incentivize renewable heat production.

The Renewable Heat Incentive will make payments to households as well as industrial commercial and public sector consumers who install renewable heat technology, like solar water heating, biomass/biogas boilers or ground source heat pumps to generate some or all of their own heat. 

The full range of payments will be available to households from October 2012 with tariffs paid for 20 years.

But as an interim measure, DECC said it would use more than 25% of the program’s first annual budget — around GBP15 million — for an “RHI premium payment” to promote early take up

With thanks to our friends at Platts

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