The microCHP industry’s three industry bodies today welcomed key commitments by the Minister for Energy and Climate Change (Greg Barker MP) to boost government support for micro-combined heat and power systems installed in homes. As well as pledging to increase the feed-in tariff rate for microCHP, the Minister also made a commitment to explore other policy interventions to increase take-up. Speaking in an adjournment debate in the House of Commons, the Minister said:
“MicroCHP can play a much larger role in driving the decentralised energy revolution…there are few homes that couldn’t benefit from microCHP…There is a clear role for Government leadership to bring microCHP to market…as an attractive, price-competitive alternative to taking electricity from the grid or installing a conventional boiler.”
Elaborating on the specific steps that the Government is considering in support of microCHP, the Minister went on to say that in the soon to be published Phase 2 of the FiT Consultation,
“I will be bringing forward a new tariff proposal for microCHP…I will be looking to raise the tariff in the proposal that I will bring forward. There are other policy levers apart from feed-in tariffs… and we should not ignore its potential, but we may need to come back to other policy levers if the feed-in tariff alone does not send a strong enough signal.”
Dave Sowden, Chief Executive of the Micropower Council said:
“We are delighted that Minister has committed to boosting support for microCHP as a key technology for the future decarbonisation of UK homes. We jointly called for this with the Combined Heat and Power Association and the Heating and Hot Water Industry Council last autumn, and we are pleased that, despite what has been a very busy time in dealing with other issues on the Feed-in-tariff, the case put forward has clearly been heard. We look forward to the consultation and working with the Government to develop the implementation details.”
Graham Meeks, Director of the CHPA said:
“As a low-carbon alternative to the ordinary boiler, microCHP can bring the benefits of the Government’s Feed-In Tariff to many millions more UK households, slashing electricity bills and cutting carbon emissions. Greg Barker’s commitment to increase the tariff level for microCHP is a welcome and important step forward in realising the enormous possibilities of this exciting technology.”
Chris Yates, Deputy Director of the HHIC said:
“We are delighted to hear that the Minister has made such a firm commitment to micro Combined Heat & Power. At the right tariff level, we believe there could be significant benefits to UK manufacturing as the demand for these products grows. MicroCHP is very much a boiler replacement technology and is ideally suited for UK homes. We look forward to working with Government to maximise the opportunity for this product.”