The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Comprehensive Spending Review has effectively cancelled the introduction of the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), according to a leading heating industry figure.
Hidden in the detail of the Chancellor’s Review is the new budget for the RHI in 2015/16 which, at £430m, is only £6m more than the 2014/15 figure.
Neil Schofield, head of government and external affairs at Worcester, Bosch Group, says the new budget is in effect a real terms cut. “The £6m increase in the budget will barely cover inflation on the commercial RHI budget let alone the introduction of the domestic RHI.”
The RHI is funded directly from central government, but the start date for the domestic RHI has been consistently delayed, with the latest introduction scheduled for spring 2014.
“The Chancellor is sending a clear message that the future is not about renewable energy. The constant delays to the introduction of the domestic RHI has led many in the heating industry to believe that there is no real commitment from the coalition government towards domestic renewables. The new policy of starving domestic RHI of vital cash effectively sounds the death knell for the scheme.”
