Get yer Hot ROCs from Good Energy

[RenewableCandy]

GoodEnergy are offering ROCs for the heat generated by their customers' Solar Hot Water systems. The relevant legislation (to arrive in April iirc) allows the quantity of heat to be "deemed" rather than measured, this is not difficult for a SHW set-up.

Of course, you're collecting ROCs and using the heat as well: there's no "hot grid" to export it to .

Our Renewable Heat Incentive – or HotROC scheme – is new. Very new indeed. Since going public with it, we’ve had hundreds of enquiries over the past couple of weeks. The response has been unbelievable.

For many years there has been a government support mechanism in place for renewable electricity – called the Renewable Obligation –
designed to increase the rate of return for electricity generators. At the moment, there is no such obligation in place for renewable ‘heat’ generators, and as a result, this market is massively underrepresented; only 0.6% of final heat demand in the UK comes from renewable sources, tiny, especially considering the potential is so huge.

We want to lead the way for the industry, while demonstrating to the
government exactly how we believe a Renewable Heat Incentive could,
and should, work.

Here are some of the some of the main functions/requirements of our
Incentive scheme:
· To be on the scheme, individuals need to be a Good Energy
Electricity & Gas customer.
· Solar Thermal Panels must have sufficient proof of installation (we’ll ask for a ‘completion certificate’,
commissioning documentation or a working schematic that will be available from your installer)
· Based on some very basic information & using our simple
methodology, we can ‘deem’ your generators’ expected annual output
without metering it at all. We’ll credit you with 4.5p for every kWh generated.
· At the moment, we’re only going to be focusing on Solar
Hot Water generators. We hope to expand this scheme through some
nifty research & development into other heat generation technologies
– Heat Exchanging Pumps, Biomass Boilers, etc. We’ll keep you
informed of any developments.
· When the government consults on how they believe the
Renewable Heat Incentive should work – we’re going to be using you
as an example – you’re the pioneers!

We look at the location in the country (expected solar irradiation),
angle & orientation of the collector, collector/aperture area, if
there’s any shading on the panels – not too scientific at the moment
– but it provides a sound starting point.

More gen...

[IanG]

The relevant legislation (to arrive in April iirc)

Its got nothing to do with government or ROCs

Its just a money back scheme when you sign up to their Gas product. I've had the pleasure of meeting & asking Juliet about it.

Personally I think its a bit of a sop for those with Solar Thermal & still using gas - by switching they get a bit back, but then GE are not the cheapest so you could argue they are just giving you your own money back. Unlike real ROCs which are funded by the polluters.

If it creates awareness in goverment of the value of the energy produced by solar thermal, and the government then extends ROCS to cover it ok, otherwise its a bit of a stunt.

[sjaglin]

I have to agree with Ian there, but it's a fresh interesting approach.

I have had my solar hot water system for a month and it's only December but the heat created amazed me for this country and my orientation (West). In the summer the heat produced is going to "overtake" my needs, I therefore looked for ways to use the excess (Dish washer, washing machine...). So yes, the solar hot water system are underestimated in this country and a ROC system would be helpful.

I am surprised by the lack of interest in ground-source (we call it Geothermal in France), in France they had to decrease the Grants as they were "too popular". There the grant system works by tax rebate, if you install a renewable energy source, you get 50% of the price of the installation back in the shape of a tax rebate the following year. I wish I had the space to install that, i went for the solar tubes as it was the only solution on my house...

Stef

[clv101]

I am surprised by the lack of interest in ground-source (we call it Geothermal in France), in France they had to decrease the Grants as they were "too popular".

This is a historical thing to do with North Sea gas. A ground-source heat pump gives you maybe 3 times the heat energy output as the electrical energy you put in. However in the UK natural gas has been approximately 3 times cheaper than electricity per unit with considerably lower capital costs. So heat pumps simply haven't been economically attractive - except for people without gas and with enough space and capital.

The situation is reversed in Switzerland for example where they have lots of relatively cheap (hydro) electricity and no indigenous natural gas. I guess the situation in France must be similar, relatively electricity rich and gas poor.

It's just another way in with North Sea gas spoiled us.

[IanG]

ground-source heat pump gives you maybe 3 times the heat energy output

Air source heat pumps can do as much as 4

ground is nearer 6

and water source heat pumps nearer 9