Page 7 - Gi August 2020

industry & government news

GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS RHI EXTENSION

FOR BUSINESSES AND HOUSEHOLDS

renewable heat industry, and help give
certainty to thousands of people working
in specialised UK supply chains.
“It is right that we offer certainty
and breathing space to companies
embracing renewable heat technology
across the country,” said Energy
Minister Kwasi Kwarteng. “Renewable
heat will play an important role in
the UK’s economic recovery as we
redouble efforts to tackle carbon
emissions. With government
support, these vital projects are on
course to stop 108 million tonnes of
carbon dioxide from polluting the
RHI APPLICANTS WILL GET EXTRA TIME TO COMPLETE THEIR PROJECTS atmosphere, while also helping to
create new green collar jobs.”
THE GOVERNMENT HAS confirmed it However, with many projects having In addition to extending the second
will extend the deadline for companies been delayed by the lockdown, the allocation of tariff guarantees, the
and households to deploy projects government has since announced that government also opened a third
under the Renewable Heat Incentive non-domestic RHI scheme applicants allocation for new applications in July,
(RHI) scheme following the closure of will get an extra 14 months to complete in a bid to encourage more investment
the most recent phase of the popular projects, while domestic RHI projects into the sector.
subsidy programme earlier this year. will get a 12-month extension, The next allocation round is set to
Projects that secured support through according to Business Green. be followed by a number of successor
the RHI’s second allocation round had The government said the move will schemes designed to scale up the green
until January 2021 to be up and running bring vital clarity to companies in heat sector, including a Clean Heat Grant
so as to secure payments through the danger of missing the start dates for scheme, Green Gas Support Scheme, and
scheme for the green heat they generate. their projects, protect investment in the Green Heat Networks Fund.

TWO UK GDNS CONSIDERING NEW FLEET current battery electric technology.
The current low availability of zero-
OF ZERO-EMISSION HYDROGEN VEHICLES emission hydrogen vehicles provides
the utilities with planning time.
“Cenex will use its experience in
TWO UK GAS distribution networks The current investigations will hydrogen transport and infrastructure
(GDNs) are investigating the potential encourage the further development to assist Northern Gas Networks and
of operating fleets of zero-emission of these renewable energy powered Wales & West Utilities in measuring
hydrogen vehicles. The goal would be to vehicles across the respective GDNs the total energy demand of their
use H₂ fuel to shrink the carbon output as they push toward a net zero fleet, including emergency response
from their fleet, aligning with the UK greenhouse gas emission goal. vehicles. This is the first step towards
government’s net zero 2050 targets. The participating GDNs operate real world hydrogen vehicle trials
The GDNs are currently examining large fleets comprising a spectrum and zero emission fleets,” said Cenex
the necessary hydrogen refuelling of vehicle types. These include Technical Specialist Nick McCarthy.
infrastructure for the venture, reports machines with a broad range of weight As the fuel cell vehicles needed for
Hydrogen Fuel News. limitations and usage profiles. Many the fleet are not yet readily available,
Northern Gas Networks and Wales have very high on-board energy Cenex is using the time to examine
& West Utilities, with the support of requirements in order to power their many different factors associated
the EIC (previously Energy Innovation specialised equipment. Moreover, they with their use. It will combine
Centre), are working with Cenex to must also commonly provide a power telematics and other operational
understand the power demands and source for hand tools when operating data for producing a 'heat map'. That
H₂ refuelling infrastructure that would in remote locations. It is thought tool will indicate the proportion of
be necessary to meet the requirements hydrogen fuel would be able to meet existing routes for which current
of a fleet of zero-emission hydrogen those high-power capacity demands in vehicles could be replaced by H₂-
vehicles throughout their duty cycle. a way that would not be possible using powered equivalents.

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16/07/2020 15:41
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News.indd 2 16/07/2020 15:41