Renewable Energy Tariffs Conference
Renewable electricity ('feed-in') tariffs will take effect in the UK in April 2010. Renewable heat and biogas tariffs are to be introduced too. Who will benefit? How will they work? When will the details be announced? Find out from Energy Minister Mike O'Brien and others here...
| When |
26 March 2009
from
10:00
to
17:30
|
|---|---|
| Venue | The Royal Institution of Great Britain |
| Location | 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS |
| Contact email: | SJFreni@r-e-a.net |
| Contact phone number: | 020 7925 3573 |
| Contact fax number: | 020 7925 2715 |
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The Government's sudden announcement that it would introduce tariffs, not just for electricity but for heat and biogas, was a welcome breakthrough for the broad consortium which had been campaigning for renewable energy tariffs. By acting just weeks after his appointment as Secretary of State for the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband was able to get the enabling powers into the Energy Act, passed in November.
This now signals the start of an intensive process to design in detail how the tariffs will work so that they can be introduced starting in April 2010. This conference provides an early opportunity to hear what the Government is planning and to make an input to this process.
Feed-in Tariffs for electricity are widely used overseas, but the UK favours a tariff for the total amount generated rather than the amount fed back into the grid. What other distinctive features might the UK’s scheme have? What special measures are needed to ensure that all relevant renewable sources can contribute?
By contrast, the concept of a tariff for heat is novel, and will make the UK a pioneer in promoting renewable heat – an urgent priority most countries recognise has historically been sorely overlooked. How can the primary energy suppliers get involved in this mechanism? How would heat be measured and rewarded?
And what are the implications for CHP systems which produce both heat and electricity? What would happen if the two tariff measures are not introduced at the same time?
Finally the Government has used this opportunity also to recognise the benefit of biogas and the possibility of injecting it into the gas grid. This will be incorporated in the heat tariff (even, we understand, if the biogas is used for non-heat applications). How can this approach provide the support needed for anaerobic digestion and biomethane production?
Only one way to find out...
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